tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47211551032875154242024-03-13T12:04:07.126-07:00Rands FamilyEst. September 16, 2000Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01413037779789996743noreply@blogger.comBlogger175125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4721155103287515424.post-57703793183321892122013-09-30T20:40:00.000-07:002013-09-30T20:40:18.816-07:00Back to School 2013<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I'm not going to lie. By the time summer break was coming to an end, I was really ready to send the kids back to school. Don't get me wrong, our summer break was great. We had a lot of fun even though we didn't do something amazing every week. But by the end, the kids (Maddie and Ian) had had enough of each other and I had had more than enough of their constant bickering/fighting. So, when the first day of school came I felt like this:</div>
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This mom's kids seem to be sad about going to back to school, but not mine! They were pretty excited. Just not quite as excited as me. </div>
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Alayna started preschool going to the same teacher Ian had when he was 3. She goes twice a week for three hours each time. I love her teacher and her little school. I think their curriculum is fabulous and I expect Alayna will learn a lot this year. I'm sure you're wondering how she is liking it. I'd say she feels so-so about it. Part of her loves to be a big girl who wears a back pack and goes to school, but she's also a real mama's girl and would love to be with me every minute of every day. Plus, she has to follow rules at school and she's very determined to do what she wants to do when she wants to do it. So she's got some adjusting to do, but I'm sure she'll do just fine. In fact I know she's already improved over these past 5 weeks of being there. Having her in school has given me the opportunity to volunteer at the older kids' school which I haven't really been able to do before now.</div>
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Maddie is in fourth grade now, which at her school equals big man on campus. (Our elementary schools are K-4.) One of her teachers from last year moved up to teach fourth grade this year and she was really hoping to be in that class, but she was disappointed on that one. She's not too upset over it though. She really likes her teacher and I just had a parent-teacher conference with her teacher who thinks "Maddie is just fantastic!" A direct quote. Maddie is not a morning person so each day is met with grumbling about getting up and going to school, but all in all she likes it. Soon she'll start volunteering in the library once a week and singing in the school choir as well.</div>
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Ian is rocking and rolling in first grade. He also seems to like his teacher and he's made friends with the kids in his class, so school is going great for him too. Last week I helped in his class doing reading with small groups of students. Here I'll brag for a moment: Ian is so far ahead of the other kids in reading. Even in his group made up of the top readers in class, he was obviously the strongest. He is just quite a smarty pants so I'm interested to see how his teacher plans to keep him challenged throughout the year. Ian is anxiously looking forward to his 7th birthday in just two weeks. :) </div>
Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01413037779789996743noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4721155103287515424.post-37244022599558127342013-02-10T20:05:00.000-07:002013-02-10T20:05:41.053-07:00Alayna at 2 1/2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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You know that feeling when your kids are off doing something for long enough that you know you should be worried about what they're doing? A part of you is really enjoying the momentary calm before the inevitable storm. I can blame it on being a bit under the weather or even just regular Sunday evening laziness. The fact is, I knew I should have checked on Alayna when she was upstairs being quiet for so long. When she finally came down I was hoping for the best, i.e. a poopy diaper. (She often retreats upstairs for a little privacy to do her business.) This is what we got instead:<br />
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This picture is worth 1,000 words, but I'm going to write a bunch anyway. I might as well make a little record of this girl right now.</div>
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Coloring is one of Alayna's favorite activities. The trouble is her rebellion against the "paper only" rule. I suppose I can see how there could be some confusion since white boards are ok to color on and so are the laminated checklists Maddie and Ian have. But I don't think my make up looks like markers. She's gotten up close and personal with my make up too, so I'm confident she knows the difference.</div>
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Like I said, I think she's rebelling. What can I say? I have another child intent on thinking for herself. Aside from her love of coloring, lately she's been loving watching Dumbo on Netflix. She calls it the baby elephant movie. Though she's not usually captivated by any show for more than about 30 minutes. She is such a loving little sister! It's so fun to hear her giggling and chasing and playing with Madeleine and Ian. It cracked me up yesterday that after I scolded her for doing something naughty (probably coloring on something inappropriate) she cried for Ian to be the one to comfort her. Just adorable. She has a good little friend she plays with once a week or so and the two of them just giggle with excitement when they first get together. She can sing I Am a Child of God beautifully as well as a few other songs. She's really good at acting excited about anything if you phrase it just right. For instance, I was changing her and getting ready to put her to bed and excitedly said, "Guess what we're going to do next?" Her eyes get wide and she takes a big excited breath in waiting for me to tell her what's coming. And tonight she was tired enough that I think she really was excited for bedtime. Oh, and she loves p.j.'s. She'd rather be in pajamas than anything else. She calls 'em puhjays. I mistakenly asked her to take her clothes off for the bath when she was actually in p.j.'s. Don't worry, she corrected me immediately. Definitely not letting that slide. Much like her sister, she loves clothes. Picking clothes, changing clothes, dress-up clothes, etc. On laundry day, her pile is always the largest thanks to her fascination with clothes and being able to dress herself.</div>
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Anyway, I know these are mostly phases she'll soon grow out of so I wanted to get it down. She's hilarious and she sure keeps us smiling. :)</div>
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Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01413037779789996743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4721155103287515424.post-21695350809807331852013-01-01T20:29:00.001-07:002013-01-01T20:29:35.658-07:00The Girls' Bedroom<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I dropped the ball on having a before picture of our girls' bedroom, but take it from me, it was nothing special...at all. Though I had made cute matching bedding (pictured <a href="http://randsinla.blogspot.com/2010/05/bedding-project.html" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="http://randsinla.blogspot.com/2010/05/finished-bedding.html" target="_blank">here</a>), once it was on their beds in our house, I never really loved it. Maddie's bed was black wrought iron with a tall headboard and footboad so her bedding was obscured. The same is true with Alayna's bedding in our black crib that was fine for Ian, but not right for Alayna. Besides, Alayna never slept a wink in that crib. Oh well. So the time came that I was ready for our baby to move into a big bed and rather than do a toddler bed that she would soon grow out of, we opted for a twin and then I could do the room all cute. So I did!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5aevzkexbU9iP4DglDsxucn7LVn_GNv_RD6ejCuT6KBxCuEH6948rLgiXrYV7tMcoOsoVrDVlSy8LNVjUwaGH-XuQn-6ooQ23hVpAw8xcEaNJ8G4M_hUnIy2MuJLLV-amrv5MdKXpUuE/s1600/001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5aevzkexbU9iP4DglDsxucn7LVn_GNv_RD6ejCuT6KBxCuEH6948rLgiXrYV7tMcoOsoVrDVlSy8LNVjUwaGH-XuQn-6ooQ23hVpAw8xcEaNJ8G4M_hUnIy2MuJLLV-amrv5MdKXpUuE/s320/001.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
I was envisioning upholstered headboards and found this <a href="http://www.centsationalgirl.com/2010/12/upholstered-headboard-with-nailhead-trim-revisited/" target="_blank">tutorial</a> to give me some guidance. I found the fabric for super cheap, so between that, the batting, the wood and nailhead trim kit, I think I made these two headboards for less than $50. I love how they turned out!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0bj_yhWMbuLducV4akirP3ZBPtmp7W4Hhv7iqS_QWYRaCCFiUC85M7Bgg13sub0HpsTjJ4RjmEFeFRwDZf2sroNYN7VNWc7CGrsbiAhndaCAnUud5_9HgTlzUNd4SpdcEGYzqsc8ZOoU/s1600/headboard.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0bj_yhWMbuLducV4akirP3ZBPtmp7W4Hhv7iqS_QWYRaCCFiUC85M7Bgg13sub0HpsTjJ4RjmEFeFRwDZf2sroNYN7VNWc7CGrsbiAhndaCAnUud5_9HgTlzUNd4SpdcEGYzqsc8ZOoU/s320/headboard.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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This picture is a bit closer up on the trim. The little bookshelves are $4 spice racks from Ikea. (Idea found on Pinterest.) Our Ikea in Houston doesn't sell them, but lucky for me I have a very sweet sister in Arizona who was willing to get some for me from her Ikea and bring them to me. Thanks, Mag!</div>
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Their dresser before. A craigslist special. I didn't do much to it, just changed the knobs. It's a lovely piece of furniture that didn't need much. Or maybe what it did need was stuff I wasn't willing to do. Either way, it's perfect for them. Look at all those drawers!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJwr2chyphenhypheniXiXUjcV_uhqe_nl7cVkalskJp5ohzcCZ5CSUR3R8-RTmWckKo0AdrTaAcet5osxA4jcRD43LBC6qO6AFTiti1-WQuO8QuY1-Uvj9V78xsEie0IUWDnDU_eyfrTQIa3ozX5U8/s1600/002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJwr2chyphenhypheniXiXUjcV_uhqe_nl7cVkalskJp5ohzcCZ5CSUR3R8-RTmWckKo0AdrTaAcet5osxA4jcRD43LBC6qO6AFTiti1-WQuO8QuY1-Uvj9V78xsEie0IUWDnDU_eyfrTQIa3ozX5U8/s320/002.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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The picture frames with wire was something I either saw on Pinterest or at a friend's baby shower. Probably both. The mirror was a gift from another sweet sister (Olivia). It used to be gold, which wouldn't have matched so I sprayed it silver. I'm not totally thrilled with how it turned out but it evidently doesn't bother me enough to do anything about it since it's up on the wall. I'd like to put hooks on the wall below the mirror. That will happen someday, when I find just the right thing.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF42SfrJIZN6C0Rs4ytaVhw473FCg4ZtMEj1hFjhNkG5PrQHQj6IQxvfKjg-c4bgwAM86GxUM5mEWnKop-i-2qkBddBGybEFtGwNmRJm03LZ4kX51pDU-ipLS00RjYDd6AUhKo-EmoYgs/s1600/vanity+before.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF42SfrJIZN6C0Rs4ytaVhw473FCg4ZtMEj1hFjhNkG5PrQHQj6IQxvfKjg-c4bgwAM86GxUM5mEWnKop-i-2qkBddBGybEFtGwNmRJm03LZ4kX51pDU-ipLS00RjYDd6AUhKo-EmoYgs/s320/vanity+before.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
Here's the vanity before. I was over the moon about this vanity! It was exactly what I was looking for: attractive, functional, well made and not too pricey. Also from craigslist. It's probably an antique that I really shouldn't have painted it, but I did anyway. And I love it!<br />
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Sorry there's not a closer shot. Getting handles for it was a bit of a nightmare. The holes are spaced oddly so there was pretty much one place I found online to buy the pulls from. Then I ordered wrong. The wrong pulls were delivered to my neighbor by mistake but they had already sent a replacement order to me. So I ended up with 8 pulls that don't work for this. Eventually I found the ones pictured here and I think they are a perfect fit. Luckily since there were very few options. I also found the stool on craigslist. For $10! I am still planning to recover the cushion since leopard print doesn't really go. Olivia is to be thanked for the curtains too. After I texted her a picture of the decorative pillows she said she had some fabric that would go well. She was right! <br />
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Another look at the beds, one last time. I'm dreaming up some projects for 2013. (Maybe in 2014 I'll blog about them.)</div>
Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01413037779789996743noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4721155103287515424.post-43969584807506440272012-12-28T23:10:00.000-07:002012-12-28T23:10:02.706-07:002012 Recap/Happy Holidays!Where has the year gone?? I am regretting that I haven't kept notes on our doings on this much-neglected blog. But since I am not giving up entirely for the year, I'll try my best for an informative but not too wordy recap of the highlights from 2012.<br />
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<strong>Alayna</strong>- Turned 2 in July. She is one sweet and sassy little girl. She is a very articulate speaker and we almost can't get enough of what she has to say. Just tonight while we were reading scriptures she's listening then saying, "what's beseech mean?" and "what's advocateth?" In her cute 2 year-old voice it's just unbearably sweet. We realize we have had enough of her voice for one day though when it's after 10 pm and she is still talking to/yelling at her sister keeping her awake. We're still finessing bedtime, as you can imagine. She is my constant sidekick at the gym, grocery store, etc. while the older two are at school. She has lots of little buddies in the nursery at church including two kids who we have a weekly playgroup with. She loves her baby dolls and is a very loving little "mommy."<br />
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<strong>Ian</strong>- Turned 6 in October. With his Fall birthday, he is one of the oldest kids in his Kindergarten class. You may recall that he did a Kindergarten program last year during his Pre-K year so although he has a handle on the curriculum for the most part, he really enjoys being at school. He loves the atmosphere of being around friends and getting to do lots of brain-stimulating activities. His favorite class is art, but I think he enjoys all the specials (art, PE, music, computer) almost the same amount. In September, he started piano lessons and soccer. He and Madeleine were on the same team and they both did fantastic. Ian is really fast and he seemed to pick up the rules pretty quick. He's also progressing well in piano. He played Honey Bee and Jolly Old St. Nicholas at his first recital earlier this month. He loves Super Mario Bros. on the Wii and anything Ninjago.<br />
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<strong>Madeleine</strong>- Turned 8 in May and was baptized in June. (You only have to go back one blog post for that full story:) This girl is rocking and rolling in 3rd grade. We lucked out with her teachers because they assign very little homework. She is expected to do the majority of her work in school including big projects, which makes me a little anxious, but she is doing really well and loving school. Especially because two of her friends from church are in her class at school. Pretty remarkable since there are 9 or 10 third grade classes. Again, she was great in soccer. The teams had kids from Kindergarten through 3rd grade so she was the oldest on her team and the tallest. She'd like to do more soccer in the future but she's really hoping to play basketball next. Althetics seem to come naturally for her so it will be interesting to see if she decides there's one sport she just loves. Santa brought pogo sticks and she has already mastered that. Even jumping with no hands! Since turning 8 she gets to go twice a month to Activity Days with the girls her age at church. She's doing really, really well at piano. She's got a great ear and figured out how to play quite a few Christmas songs. </div>
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<strong>Spencer</strong>- Working as a project manager at ExxonMobil. He's really enjoying work and is constantly learning and growing. He is also working on a second master's degree, this time in construction management. Thankfully he's working on it slowly (one night a week, online) so he still has time for the family. It will take a while to complete but he loves what he's learning about and feels like this degree will be a great addition to his professional skills. He keeps fit doing Insanity workouts, which are awesome. About once a month he plays the bass with a bluegrass band. At church he is the choir director.<br />
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<strong>Rachel</strong>- Same old, same old. Cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc. I remember at the end of last year predicting more projects around the house and it turns out I was sort of right. I redecorated the girls' bedroom, including making lovely headboards and refinshing a vanity. Painted a bathroom too. Not much, but honestly, running a household and caring for this family is one big ongoing project, right?! I'm still an avid gym go-er so I can get some exercise and some me time all at once. Spencer and I both sang in our stake choir's Christmas program. That has become one of my favorite parts of the Christmas season. I am still overseeing the nursery at church. A job that has become much simpler since since our ward split about 6 months ago.<br />
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<strong>Additional highlights:</strong><br />
<strong>-</strong> A trip to San Diego at the end of April. We got to see my sister Angela and her family, a few friends from LA at Disneyland, Curtis and Amy and their kids and Drew. This really deserves a post of its own.<br />
-Coldplay live at the Toyota Center.<br />
-Two camping trips. One in the heat of late Spring (maybe this should be a lowlight) and one in early November (highlight).<br />
-Spending a day and a half in San Antonio with my sister Erika and her family.<br />
-Madeleine's baptism, complete with a visit from Grandpa Gus and Grandma Sandi.<br />
-My sister Maggie and her family stayed with us in October. NASA, Children's Museum, family time. Sister time seeing Gotye in concert.<br />
-Thanksgiving with another sister! Olivia and Ben came down from Billings with her kids and stayed for a week. Indoor Schlitterbahn, Museum of Natural Science, and NASA again. Also great Texas BBQ (Rudy's) and Tex-Mex (Pappasito's).<br />
-A couple running events for me. A mud run one weekend and a nighttime 5k the next.<br />
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We love you all and hope you forgive us for not sending a tangible Christmas card. We are so grateful for our Savior, Jesus Christ, and for the Christmas season to celebrate His birth. Striving to be like Him and live His teachings brings us immeasurable peace and happiness. We are also so very grateful for all the amazing people in our lives. We are truly blessed! We wish you all a wonderful 2013!Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01413037779789996743noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4721155103287515424.post-35697691560055837762012-07-25T11:01:00.001-07:002012-07-25T11:01:10.443-07:008 years old and a baptism<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Our oldest child is 8 years old. Time goes by so fast! Will that ever stop being so crazy to me? Back in May, Madeleine turned 8. She had been looking forward to it for a couple reasons. One was that she was very eager to be baptized. The other, and maybe what she was most excited for, was that we were letting her get her ears pierced this year. She got them pierced as a baby but she kept pulling them out so we eventually quit putting them back in. Then for the past couple years I thought about doing it as part of her birthday gifts, but each of those times it was decided that she had gotten plenty of gifts and didn't need another one. So this was her lucky year. And she has not been disappointed. She counted down the days till she was able to change into different earrings and she still can't wait to wear some dangly ones. </div>
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As you can see, I attempted a barbie cake. It tasted good, I can say that for certain. But if Alayna ever wants one in the future I hope I can learn from this experience what I need to do differently to make it a bit prettier. Madeleine loved it though and since it was delicious it must have been a success. Don't judge a book by its cover, or something like that, right?</div>
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June 16th was the big baptism day. Her actual birthday fell the day after our ward's regular day for baptizing the kids turning 8, so she got to wait almost a month. It worked out great though since it made it easier for a family members to come without missing work, etc.<br />
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We are so pround of her! It feels like we are in a different stage of parenthood now that our oldest has been baptized. Like the issues we are dealing with now and in the years to come are much different (and do I dare say more difficult?) than the things we struggled with when our kids were little. It's almost like we can't claim to be young parents anymore though I definitely still feel young. Our kids are older so we must be too, right? Spencer is 35 now so I guess now we're mid-30's parents. I don't know. Just rambling...<br />
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Moving on. My dad came from Mesa. Thanks, Dad! It was fun to spend the weekend with him. </div>
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And Spencer's mom came from Oregon. She stayed for a week and the kids were in heaven! Truthfully, we all were! We loved having her here and we really appreciated that she was here with us even though she may have wanted to rush off to see Holly and Mark's newest little one who was born during her stay with us. Don't worry, she went to be with them when she left Texas. We're hoping we can figure out a way to get Paul and Sandi to retire wherever we live. Maybe we need to convince Spencer's siblings and their families to move here too. It's pretty nice here, guys...come on...who's in?? </div>
Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01413037779789996743noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4721155103287515424.post-68845447636468368932012-07-16T06:47:00.000-07:002012-07-16T06:47:58.914-07:00Blogging again<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I'm breaking my blog silence. It's been long enough, right? Not that it was intentional. We had some technical difficulties (broken computer) that was the start of my blog neglect. Then I got my iPhone. Do you have one? Does it make you feel like you almost never need to sit down at the computer ever again?? Well, that's how it is with me. But no more. I really like documenting what's going on with us this way so I am vowing to get back into it.</div>
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For starters, here are a couple pictures from Madeleine's and Ian's performance in The Sound of Music. The YMCA has a Performing Arts program that put this on. For a couple months they went to rehearsal 3 times a week to prepare for the show in May. They had a good time, but I think they were ready for it to be over. Three rehearsals a week got to be a lot. It was for me, too. I'm glad they got a taste of doing a play. I'll be interested to see if they have any desire to do that sort of thing as they get older.</div>
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Madeleine had two roles: Sister Margaretta (obviously in this picture) and Romy, a made-up Von Trapp daughter who is just younger than Liesl. They had to create parts to fit the children in the performance. I think there were 12 or 13 Von Trapp children instead of the usual 7. :)<br />
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Ian played Kurt. He was adorable. We were originally just going to put Madeleine in the play. As we discussed it more and more she was leaning toward not doing it at all (which would have been fine) but then Ian asked if he could do it. He was adamant that he wanted to do it, so Madeleine came around and decided to do it too.<br />
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Here's what I liked about it: It got them involved in something cultural and exposed to a wonderful musical. I love The Sound of Music! We liked them being busy. At times I hated how busy we were, but in general it was good for them to be out doing something productive than at home trying to watch too much tv. Ian is very outgoing and comfortable in most settings, but this challenged Madeleine by getting her out of her comfort zone and they both were able to make new friends. And the director had lots of good things to say about them. You always think your kids are pretty great, but it's nice to hear it from an outside source from time to time.<br />
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What I didn't like as much was that the performance ended up being a glorified rehearsal. The director was out on stage some and giving lines a lot. But I completely understand. There was one adult in charge, the director. She had a couple teenage assistants and one mom who was very helpful (not me) and all the children in the play were under 12 years old. A tough job, I'm sure. Anyway, overall it was a good experience.<br />
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Keep this little blog on your radar because you know after six months not blogging, I've got loads to come!Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01413037779789996743noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4721155103287515424.post-69562658017941914052012-01-18T18:59:00.000-07:002012-01-18T18:59:07.870-07:00These kids...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNzfcjWTdyearv8IPDVxsqR9g-v3rlVvj92ymXLtEDtRWVaXjMp_OVghfMNbY9n5_RbLHNm4DnD5c4Q_MT7xnvCESdK6Cqpr-ZrPVLualvtHKzJNv7bUAG0hdqfiv-Z7lnInCaW5HgaTo/s1600/Jan.+2012+142.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNzfcjWTdyearv8IPDVxsqR9g-v3rlVvj92ymXLtEDtRWVaXjMp_OVghfMNbY9n5_RbLHNm4DnD5c4Q_MT7xnvCESdK6Cqpr-ZrPVLualvtHKzJNv7bUAG0hdqfiv-Z7lnInCaW5HgaTo/s400/Jan.+2012+142.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><ul><li>Alayna is a bit of a thief. At our gym, the kids get a numbered sticker on their back when their parents check them in. My sweet baby makes her way around the other kids swiping stickers as she goes. If one of the children tries to get away from her, she boldly persists till she's accomplished her goal. The attendants in the kid's club fondly refer to her as "Swiper."</li>
</ul><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi6P5o3oyFs44tKlycYWP_3eWKdYiXxrUJuAZDE5yRlxNoyb3H0akw3j1syaXewwgludM6UCGRuNXLbbBaA1KKBq9paZh0jvePXxKQyK94CoSHWE6-WK60KuKzsPCVrFYHvoLTAEvP9PM/s1600/Jan.+2012+150.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi6P5o3oyFs44tKlycYWP_3eWKdYiXxrUJuAZDE5yRlxNoyb3H0akw3j1syaXewwgludM6UCGRuNXLbbBaA1KKBq9paZh0jvePXxKQyK94CoSHWE6-WK60KuKzsPCVrFYHvoLTAEvP9PM/s400/Jan.+2012+150.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
<ul><li>Madeleine and Ian helped themselves to some stickers we had stashed away and were putting them on themselves, empty soda bottles, etc. Ian had one on the front of his shoulder and Alayna reeeaaalllly wanted it. Her method at first was to tug on his sleeve with all her might, which is sayin' something. The girl's got some strength. But Ian is strong too and was able to shake her off. So what did she do next? She turned the tugging into hugging and when she was near enough, that sticker became hers.</li>
</ul><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWsaIi-Oi0prbfD11P7g46kKaZ8h6U6kKaPqYqxXqGrnDn7cmd1VqxZ7aKqhE-UMqLpjDi2HY5g8uaZOWOooF-ATwTRz-iwwf5J06gNPGRrd-XPzEgC3-riyeSVNj_njAFsXgGKeRbkYM/s1600/Jan.+2012+151.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWsaIi-Oi0prbfD11P7g46kKaZ8h6U6kKaPqYqxXqGrnDn7cmd1VqxZ7aKqhE-UMqLpjDi2HY5g8uaZOWOooF-ATwTRz-iwwf5J06gNPGRrd-XPzEgC3-riyeSVNj_njAFsXgGKeRbkYM/s320/Jan.+2012+151.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
<ul><li>I was in my room "working" on the computer while the kids played in the backyard. I heard what could have been crying, but I'm not the mom that goes running out at that sound so I kept working. Soon I heard Ian come in, snoop around in the kitchen, grab a snack and then he slowly made his way to my room. I think he was supposed to be "rushing" to tell me Madeleine was hurt. Good thing it wasn't serious because that message was not delivered with much urgency today.</li>
</ul>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01413037779789996743noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4721155103287515424.post-66645974759851937172012-01-01T21:00:00.000-07:002012-01-01T21:00:45.283-07:00Merry Christmas!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SihMGJ_m_Us/TwEkaPUY2pI/AAAAAAAABp0/_z7hRoS47uk/s1600/001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SihMGJ_m_Us/TwEkaPUY2pI/AAAAAAAABp0/_z7hRoS47uk/s320/001.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>We had a really wonderful Christmas! The kids were thrilled with all their gifts, which is what pleases us the most. Madeleine seems happiest to now have a her very own Snuggie and a gigantic pillow pet. Though Ian wanted a Nintendo DS (we assured him he wouldn't get that) he's super happy that we got several new games for our Wii and more remotes too. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zlAY4sGU98c/TwEkupWa-FI/AAAAAAAABp8/pu07ve_iiCA/s1600/003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zlAY4sGU98c/TwEkupWa-FI/AAAAAAAABp8/pu07ve_iiCA/s320/003.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Spencer surprised me with a new camera and I have to admit, I couldn't be happier about it! Ian had to hold his smile for a minute while I got my bearings, hence why the smile looks so painful and fake and actually not like a smile.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3S1kdu1dBXQ/TwElA2sfp-I/AAAAAAAABqE/uGUn38Zq928/s1600/004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3S1kdu1dBXQ/TwElA2sfp-I/AAAAAAAABqE/uGUn38Zq928/s320/004.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>The giant pillow pets. Grandma Montelius, these are from you.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CtaU89cTjhw/TwElSNXWIlI/AAAAAAAABqM/Ecj_a9Gvw7E/s1600/045.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CtaU89cTjhw/TwElSNXWIlI/AAAAAAAABqM/Ecj_a9Gvw7E/s320/045.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Alayna got this sweet trike and Madeleine and Ian got new bikes too.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dl4kSRK1WfE/TwEli3C6LTI/AAAAAAAABqU/bZd6HNwPbq0/s1600/081.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dl4kSRK1WfE/TwEli3C6LTI/AAAAAAAABqU/bZd6HNwPbq0/s320/081.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>We had planned to go to the Children's Museum on Christmas Eve like we did last year, but since Ian had an ear infection we spent that whole morning at Walgreens in the clinic to get medicine. So instead of wasting our passes when we'd only get to spend a couple hours there, we went a couple days after Christmas instead. I'm certain it was much busier than it would have been two days earlier, but we had so much fun anyway. I took this picture on the way there.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ImcT4JgvsU8/TwElnddxh6I/AAAAAAAABqc/lJIKk6bIHng/s1600/097.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ImcT4JgvsU8/TwElnddxh6I/AAAAAAAABqc/lJIKk6bIHng/s320/097.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Alayna on the pulley seat. You're supposed to try all three to see which pulley makes it easiest to pull yourself up.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2028h6A1y_k/TwElrps00hI/AAAAAAAABqk/UxhudXWJmus/s1600/101.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2028h6A1y_k/TwElrps00hI/AAAAAAAABqk/UxhudXWJmus/s320/101.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>On this one there's a camera that takes three photos of you doing three different poses. Then it plays it back and you match your moves. It gets a little tougher as it speeds up.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qIrA3rBIkSA/TwElwH7sS3I/AAAAAAAABqs/hOL9A-b0Bzg/s1600/108.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qIrA3rBIkSA/TwElwH7sS3I/AAAAAAAABqs/hOL9A-b0Bzg/s320/108.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>I think this is the Power Tower or something like that. It'a a 3 story high climbing structure. Adults are welcome and I did it, but it wasn't roomy. Fun, but a tight squeeze in places.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2uJSUicPG14/TwEl0PTNG3I/AAAAAAAABq0/BgI7tSdr2u0/s1600/128.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2uJSUicPG14/TwEl0PTNG3I/AAAAAAAABq0/BgI7tSdr2u0/s320/128.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>"Tw-ITCH-er" This section was all about lice, mosquitoes, bed bugs and one other bug I can't remember. So this version of Twister would say Right Hand Bed Bug, etc. You could also look at each bug under a microscope and learn lots of interesting facts about them in other parts of the exhibit. These few pics are a tiny sample of all they have to offer at the Children's Museum. We love that place! <br />
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I didn't get pictures of it, but the day after Christmas we went down to Galveston and went to Schlitterbahn to experience the indoor waterpark. It was pretty cold that day (for us) so even though the water is heated, it still felt really, really crazy to be running around in swimsuits and getting wet. Once we got going, and especially when it warmed up a little in the afternoon, we had a really great time! Perhaps this will be the beginning of a new tradition? We'll see.Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01413037779789996743noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4721155103287515424.post-11309161051888761402011-12-22T08:23:00.000-07:002011-12-22T08:23:45.701-07:00End of Year update<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-epofY5crCq4/TvKp6s8VU5I/AAAAAAAABno/ofDA9G4HysM/s1600/IMG_1708.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-epofY5crCq4/TvKp6s8VU5I/AAAAAAAABno/ofDA9G4HysM/s320/IMG_1708.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
I would love to say I will get in more than one additional post this year, but I should be realistic. And since this is probably it, I will try to make it a good one. And since this will take the place of a Christmas newsletter from our family, let's make it a proper update on this bunch, shall we? Yes, let's!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TT8qDMyT-Og/TvKupw3N31I/AAAAAAAABoI/NXH484WmrLM/s1600/IMG_1636.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TT8qDMyT-Og/TvKupw3N31I/AAAAAAAABoI/NXH484WmrLM/s320/IMG_1636.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><strong>Madeleine</strong>: Loving 2nd grade at the wonderful school located just behind our house. She has 2 fabulous teachers and is in a class full of top performers so they move through the curriculum quickly, which suits her very well. For extra-curricular activity she does gymnastics twice a week. She is a very graceful little girl and she's doing great in both classes she takes (tumbling level 2 and gymnastics level 2). She is such a good big sister (almost always to Alayna and pretty often to Ian) and a very helpful child. Madeleine is looking forward to turning 8 in May and being baptized soon after. Anyone planning a trip to Houston for that?<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WYmwRtkl_0Y/TvLECf0T37I/AAAAAAAABpE/QKNEMwgz14o/s1600/IMG_1652.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WYmwRtkl_0Y/TvLECf0T37I/AAAAAAAABpE/QKNEMwgz14o/s320/IMG_1652.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><strong>Ian</strong>: This kid absolutely cannot get enough of video games. His top fave is Super Paper Mario, which is a really fun game, but since it's one of two games we own (the other being Wii Sports) it may be by default more than anything else. Luckily he has some other things going on in his life to give him a little balance. He is still at a nearby Baptist church for pre-K but he has moved into a kindergarten class since he was already proficient in the pre-K skills. <span style="font-size: xx-small;">(We plan on him doing kindergarten again next year once he is old enough for K at public school.)</span> He told me today that he thinks it's pretty cool that he goes to a school where they are teaching the gospel. I couldn't agree more! He's playing basketball again through the YMCA and enjoying that somewhat. I think we all know what he would rather be doing, but again, we are aiming for some balance. :) </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_XrlRtTaygc/TvNBbHMfSfI/AAAAAAAABpc/61Y-Nj61i8c/s1600/IMG_1658.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_XrlRtTaygc/TvNBbHMfSfI/AAAAAAAABpc/61Y-Nj61i8c/s320/IMG_1658.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><strong>Alayna</strong>: Words to describe Alayna....busy, funny, sweet, busy. Oh, did I say busy twice? I should have said it 3 or 4 times! This girl is at the age where she is into everything, and climbing on everything else. Our Christmas tree has multiple conspicuous bald spots at Alayna-height. And you better believe that if there is something or somewhere we want her to stay out of, it's a never ending battle to get our way. But we love her and she is pretty hilarious. She's a good little talker. For quite some time she has been shaking and nodding her head. Awhile ago she added "yeah" to her repertoire. She's figured out that "uh huh" and "huh uh" can be used to indicate "yes" or "no," respectively, and she's expirimenting with that. The problem is she says "huh uh" when she means "yes." I'm sure in no time at all she'll have it all figured out. We're eagerly waiting for her to start saying Maddie's name. She's been saing "Eee-uh" (Ian) for a long time and "Mama" and "Dada" too. Madeleine is feeling a little left out. </div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nPazucZJIlM/TvNCz2updiI/AAAAAAAABpo/r0iwAwPdV7I/s1600/IMG_1802.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nPazucZJIlM/TvNCz2updiI/AAAAAAAABpo/r0iwAwPdV7I/s320/IMG_1802.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><strong>Spencer</strong>: Really enjoying work at ExxonMobil. He is doing such a good job and his superiors are all thrilled with what he's accomplished. One of his colleagues at the company Christmas party told me that Spencer is single-handedly changing his department. That might be a slight exaggeration, but a very kind thing to say and an indication of how well he's doing. In February he will be starting a new position as an Asset Portfolio Manager and he couldn't be happier about it. It's exactly the position he was hoping to attain and we feel extremely fortunate that he was able to get to it so quickly. The only move associated with the new position will be down the hall from his current office. At church, Spencer serves as the Sunday School President. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><strong>Rachel</strong>: I find it most difficult to do my own update. Each day for me is so full of things that are hardly worth mentioning. And so now a year has gone by and I feel like there's not much to note. I'll say this: I feel like we have really settled in to a good life here in Texas. We have made some really wonderful friends and that is such a source of joy for me. I have not been doing many household projects lately, but I have a feeling there are several in store in 2012. I love being a stay-at-home mom. It sure isn't glamorous, but I find it really challenging in a good way. And I love my kids. They are just so wonderful. I think about them and think, "Are those awesome kids really mine? Wow! I am a lucky mom!" Of course there are times when my thoughts are a little less gushy, but that's part of the gig I signed up for, right? I wouldn't trade it. At church, I am still the Nursery Coordinator overseeing about 45 kids ages 18 months to 3 years. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We hope all of our friends and family are enjoying a wonderful Christmas season! We are grateful for our Savior, Jesus Christ, and this special time of year to celebrate His birth. We are also grateful to have each of you in our lives and for the happiness it brings us to know you. Merry Christmas and happy New Year!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">(Family pictures were taken in Mesa, AZ in November by <a href="http://www.jessicadrewphotoblog.com/" target="_blank">Jessica Drew</a>) </div>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01413037779789996743noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4721155103287515424.post-26636870187488731422011-11-07T07:37:00.000-07:002011-11-07T07:37:00.501-07:00How We Spent Our Summer Vacation<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTTfAaZbs9dIBUr8mSBHa5VMKqFkAJ_kd75B473n3F9nPiDyDcwseVQit4G6kbeQDPDAUXFT41WusqmEtsyyXh297dkiligABTH-Z67bg9f6Ar2m0H23PCRSvOoStGb_RabH5ZQcYMxm0/s1600/0702111955.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTTfAaZbs9dIBUr8mSBHa5VMKqFkAJ_kd75B473n3F9nPiDyDcwseVQit4G6kbeQDPDAUXFT41WusqmEtsyyXh297dkiligABTH-Z67bg9f6Ar2m0H23PCRSvOoStGb_RabH5ZQcYMxm0/s320/0702111955.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><strong>*Warning</strong>: This post is also not well thought out, but I had to do it. I wish I had done it earlier to devote more time to it, but I gotta do what I gotta do.</span></div><br />
This post has been a long time coming. The main thing of note from the summer was our mega road trip from Houston to Oregon (and all over other parts of the West) and it took a looong time to recover from all those days in the car. We've been recovered for quite some time, but then school started and everything else and I just barely looked again to see this post sitting as a draft since September. Ooops!<br />
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The picture above was at the Mulolla Rodeo. I think the rodeo each summer is the main thing Mulolla is known for. We loved it. I much preferred the quaintness of this little outdoor rodeo to the Houston rodeo and all its giganticness. Is that a word? <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC-TWCS21qSx8Oql_MjbUKpnJMhnCutOxSk4TYhA6ptAkePFZ8ICi0S93Pgwk3hDX1NYM-4m8KgXfMWCSpNL9NlxF_2kDqhQzmrPYmfm0iyPxqrc0N7tjBa4VYD8JE22-qzLV2TrVsMBM/s1600/0622111940a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC-TWCS21qSx8Oql_MjbUKpnJMhnCutOxSk4TYhA6ptAkePFZ8ICi0S93Pgwk3hDX1NYM-4m8KgXfMWCSpNL9NlxF_2kDqhQzmrPYmfm0iyPxqrc0N7tjBa4VYD8JE22-qzLV2TrVsMBM/s320/0622111940a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Since thrift store shopping is one of my favorite pastimes, I was sure to do as much as I could while on vacation. At some point before our trip I found this sleeper for Alayna. Then in Oregon I found one in Madeleine's size at one of the secondhand stores there. What are the chances?? How many size 7 footed pajamas even need to exist?? I couldn't resist them. Now our girls wear matching p.j.'s about once a week.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_vwgPAHeseezVLoyiE0bBIR9AOwx3aZkCpdoLTPdVaZADFdstxorwm0Zsmy3nBAlM99E5sqNbQS-wPw1JA2pAkeq75VFbjv72Upgq6ddcpsNr2IL-EH7crvn5ItrWc3Bb2QqbvppOcUM/s1600/0623111528a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_vwgPAHeseezVLoyiE0bBIR9AOwx3aZkCpdoLTPdVaZADFdstxorwm0Zsmy3nBAlM99E5sqNbQS-wPw1JA2pAkeq75VFbjv72Upgq6ddcpsNr2IL-EH7crvn5ItrWc3Bb2QqbvppOcUM/s320/0623111528a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>There's a fabulous little park right around the corner from Spencer's parent's house. We played in the water there several times during the 2.5 weeks we were there. While the weather actually felt cold to us Houstonians, we loved being in a cooler place for a while. And of course being with cousins and grandmas and grandpa made it even better!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSFkV8N1XDm2Tob79VDSaHWRTLqE0Vqm-MVvnIpfFnr7iXxG618_vjiK-Voaq3GDWpCuxRqPyYcWFWaEy5uxBdMdPgrjTuHCvP4litHosqNvbwInPXGELOR01SEIhX8VANFDEqZcLVCsc/s1600/0624111112.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSFkV8N1XDm2Tob79VDSaHWRTLqE0Vqm-MVvnIpfFnr7iXxG618_vjiK-Voaq3GDWpCuxRqPyYcWFWaEy5uxBdMdPgrjTuHCvP4litHosqNvbwInPXGELOR01SEIhX8VANFDEqZcLVCsc/s320/0624111112.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Ian and Noah are exactly a year and a day apart in age. They had such a great time together this summer! We are hoping and praying and crossing our fingers that Mark gets to do his residency in Houston so we can have them nearby.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-k1Lxw3lTkup1PlXPuWhMFUdv1Ew5aabEv1spiFi5dlMNa1nA4_8ifbkXtFYNfZpVBOAdSefa1eUrODFfDiWCg7JtgElSZ_r6UMDHPuerZ1rx0Gig8mwBXn9sjEPAMElDYlW7ZYS6xms/s1600/0624111104.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-k1Lxw3lTkup1PlXPuWhMFUdv1Ew5aabEv1spiFi5dlMNa1nA4_8ifbkXtFYNfZpVBOAdSefa1eUrODFfDiWCg7JtgElSZ_r6UMDHPuerZ1rx0Gig8mwBXn9sjEPAMElDYlW7ZYS6xms/s320/0624111104.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Alayna at another fun park one day. The summer in Oregon is so beautiful! It makes you want to live there. The non-stop drizzle during the winter doesn't.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU080YRrw1qfMFUgq2j5jz01kb1YmXMyOs0Aj6Wrup0Pvs7IMw6qdsTh7mTgBisCSRbk2epCsf_sBFt25AaIPZjEAy1Sby5Cy010HbBMinz6znA3_uzvTQ7_GgRSGMJthhoHXDCRhmhAo/s1600/0629111558a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU080YRrw1qfMFUgq2j5jz01kb1YmXMyOs0Aj6Wrup0Pvs7IMw6qdsTh7mTgBisCSRbk2epCsf_sBFt25AaIPZjEAy1Sby5Cy010HbBMinz6znA3_uzvTQ7_GgRSGMJthhoHXDCRhmhAo/s320/0629111558a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>We spent one day at the children's museum. So fun! <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge_LZSi4EUiDA4_8TjmA6UV4DBLhbxsRkmEipDBLxl59-IqqNWepkHOEexChflNQMu9zjIkWZDPW5g1d-Bj9V2GfbSfWmsFEZC3KV8ejgpJALDvsvBwZNuKlpKo_1N-UFK_TmsJlb_ap4/s1600/07041111380001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge_LZSi4EUiDA4_8TjmA6UV4DBLhbxsRkmEipDBLxl59-IqqNWepkHOEexChflNQMu9zjIkWZDPW5g1d-Bj9V2GfbSfWmsFEZC3KV8ejgpJALDvsvBwZNuKlpKo_1N-UFK_TmsJlb_ap4/s320/07041111380001.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>On our way home we were able to see friends from college who are now in different parts of the west. This is Allen, who introduced Spencer and me. I wish we lived closer! Spending the morning together wasn't nearly long enough, but it was better than nothing.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0lykEuk-XZiU7or-X7alkdwmtbgfcLx1ztMIDuhGRfXIMCzy_psalhXLNB1rcnw1_vr7zeznJmJ3zDhDmmivMpmouG2hFFHCKy9Xrh-A0rIg-q1b-Y3Iud1ysaCXujujIL-7fROoGMRA/s1600/alayna.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0lykEuk-XZiU7or-X7alkdwmtbgfcLx1ztMIDuhGRfXIMCzy_psalhXLNB1rcnw1_vr7zeznJmJ3zDhDmmivMpmouG2hFFHCKy9Xrh-A0rIg-q1b-Y3Iud1ysaCXujujIL-7fROoGMRA/s320/alayna.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Grandma Sandi and Aunt Shelley took Alayna and her twin cousin Maren to the library one morning for an activity geared at babies. Just look at that cute face!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQyQ7ep1iXyKddA8ikbb1-dxob7IJlATMbU417gFGMAuesO3lOK6BvFkcveAHgKtVHQzxyNIOXm8C_TvF1Mic0UqGpYe49GHP1sUHfV09fpNY2I-9UwN-1OvWvlzDBKPnYojpw1Il15qM/s1600/grandma+m+and+alayna.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQyQ7ep1iXyKddA8ikbb1-dxob7IJlATMbU417gFGMAuesO3lOK6BvFkcveAHgKtVHQzxyNIOXm8C_TvF1Mic0UqGpYe49GHP1sUHfV09fpNY2I-9UwN-1OvWvlzDBKPnYojpw1Il15qM/s320/grandma+m+and+alayna.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Grandma Montelius lives right by Spencer's parents so we were able to spend lots of time with her too. She's awesome. Kris and Cameron (not pictured) are Spencer's cousins who came out from Ohio for the reunion. You can just see how helpful everyone was.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk240M0HQIMSKsPuvPJ9Au2n75NsfEl_0z_1vnoS_dS7Q1UDXk_6Ntv0OmEGyoELKUEXeGO8txEc-GPP38041zSY6NprMaueUbxuqiO5fRPViahX4iKyPilCUSzoxdOg4vg5TCjkTjomQ/s1600/matching+cousins.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk240M0HQIMSKsPuvPJ9Au2n75NsfEl_0z_1vnoS_dS7Q1UDXk_6Ntv0OmEGyoELKUEXeGO8txEc-GPP38041zSY6NprMaueUbxuqiO5fRPViahX4iKyPilCUSzoxdOg4vg5TCjkTjomQ/s320/matching+cousins.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>Here are the twin cousins. Maren was born on July 1 last year and Alanya was born on July 13. I just know they are going to be BFFs. :)<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuXjX8RP-nUQhJDCeVU12p8rdsHMuSkn8xldurI9QuY6L2gwdRnJ0uDVQirC-xTPjygnIZUCvb0E7kTImI6uEOCJbU6Muwn3haN-LMHDh5BxTMKTSZvE4_IhTib0Uupky618PCoEaugwQ/s1600/mom+maddie+ian.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuXjX8RP-nUQhJDCeVU12p8rdsHMuSkn8xldurI9QuY6L2gwdRnJ0uDVQirC-xTPjygnIZUCvb0E7kTImI6uEOCJbU6Muwn3haN-LMHDh5BxTMKTSZvE4_IhTib0Uupky618PCoEaugwQ/s320/mom+maddie+ian.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>On one rainy day, we went to the Family Fun Center and played a few video games as well as climbed around in the Kidopolis playland.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFbwstwvJbwu3wDVonf7IhkEEsnTCFdJifxf0NlUbneFyG736U4N1t4c9pQQKrtnldmD0Bwz8QfDWmBlJYipZgMwQTDWpB62TFZykuP4_nK7f4hT7s-JtQijQ8j8mSS4LYB_ZkARmu3Q4/s1600/rafting1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFbwstwvJbwu3wDVonf7IhkEEsnTCFdJifxf0NlUbneFyG736U4N1t4c9pQQKrtnldmD0Bwz8QfDWmBlJYipZgMwQTDWpB62TFZykuP4_nK7f4hT7s-JtQijQ8j8mSS4LYB_ZkARmu3Q4/s320/rafting1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Spencer and I left the kids with grandma and great grandma while we went rafting on the Deschutes River with Holly, Mark, Drew and Aunt Shelley. It was so much fun. Though the water was super cold and I vowed to not get all the way in, tradition says you must at a certain point and I gave in to the peer pressure. The frigid water took my breath away but obviously I survived.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisx91EZNzhgd1Znan4tzM_-wWPb8x4B1lhRYbO0RIETOr06iyK9PaKlHE3rMpEGrGH-GBsEB2Dxij6sE5sQPGMraUE1nzHGXKjH-f5vDihvjNxgfyqOyvq1NpGQt9fbAX_Jwuo35g0-mA/s1600/rands+girls.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisx91EZNzhgd1Znan4tzM_-wWPb8x4B1lhRYbO0RIETOr06iyK9PaKlHE3rMpEGrGH-GBsEB2Dxij6sE5sQPGMraUE1nzHGXKjH-f5vDihvjNxgfyqOyvq1NpGQt9fbAX_Jwuo35g0-mA/s320/rands+girls.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Spencer drove us out there then had to fly home to work for week before flying back for the reunion. This must have been one day while he was home. Check out Madeleine's <strike>hideous</strike> gorgeous necklace. The things weighs a ton and I doubt it was really meant to be worn as a necklace, but she sure thinks it's the most beautiful thing around. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9X9YiMDWfI40blOKN3hZ5Iwyat1XufAmVqjMsL-lP-UdASY5IXPylzJQFKmk5VXwqQUkTeh2TOw3aEiH3xO9Bljf5ScAhOh8fo7VYt5noLxDxFYq0lsfk3hdDZvHEwZHI6muwsTLgIYc/s1600/rands+at+the+beach.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9X9YiMDWfI40blOKN3hZ5Iwyat1XufAmVqjMsL-lP-UdASY5IXPylzJQFKmk5VXwqQUkTeh2TOw3aEiH3xO9Bljf5ScAhOh8fo7VYt5noLxDxFYq0lsfk3hdDZvHEwZHI6muwsTLgIYc/s320/rands+at+the+beach.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Here we are with the whole Rands crew on beach day. Pretty creative sand building, right? I had absolutely nothing to do with that. That was all Grandpa Paul and Uncle Drew. Very impressive, don't you agree?<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC-pNVKYzjQSo2zRRBxKEYj-IBgp76gCQA0giJqHUBsfjDtOPqM6836_OgT7R27Ki2UyVPQHSjHvDhhf1zIXcFAy_b1cIBvib9rkcgIjE9vpmbvu0h1l-3b-l-FPqOciqnzKeMPx4_NDc/s1600/SRands+fam+at+the+beach2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC-pNVKYzjQSo2zRRBxKEYj-IBgp76gCQA0giJqHUBsfjDtOPqM6836_OgT7R27Ki2UyVPQHSjHvDhhf1zIXcFAy_b1cIBvib9rkcgIjE9vpmbvu0h1l-3b-l-FPqOciqnzKeMPx4_NDc/s320/SRands+fam+at+the+beach2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>A family picture on the beach. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwl36OT-RXsSIBOgOWljDcePt036vUYR9vxQV-A5feF1RWY20cVRTM844e3GQgzMQfnlMcRGfRcgZalLyGvzXZY8lQpXeDhNPQq9fWSSYBa-LlqOTcqxC-f9p0aUseK0oxH-PkwCm57Zo/s1600/SRands+fam+with+grandma+M.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwl36OT-RXsSIBOgOWljDcePt036vUYR9vxQV-A5feF1RWY20cVRTM844e3GQgzMQfnlMcRGfRcgZalLyGvzXZY8lQpXeDhNPQq9fWSSYBa-LlqOTcqxC-f9p0aUseK0oxH-PkwCm57Zo/s320/SRands+fam+with+grandma+M.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>One last photo-op with Grandma M before we had to hit the road and head for home.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-I-DowwLrUcoXkTliArfV1DMaGZ_d6THf-P6n4x1iirY9E4PzIjZoZF1Nthfz7hEjUWK9VfcxHc2iXWfFdI9RCsTUWqhdWfvwCBolQ4sLMM9uGfi7rseIau3MhrlA1g7xjg-EF_vi9zY/s1600/SRands+family+touched+up.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-I-DowwLrUcoXkTliArfV1DMaGZ_d6THf-P6n4x1iirY9E4PzIjZoZF1Nthfz7hEjUWK9VfcxHc2iXWfFdI9RCsTUWqhdWfvwCBolQ4sLMM9uGfi7rseIau3MhrlA1g7xjg-EF_vi9zY/s320/SRands+family+touched+up.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br />
Last but not least, our family photo from the professional photo shoot.<br />
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I think I will have to find more pictures to post because there was so much more to document. Stay tuned for another post on this topic. Hopefully before next year!Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01413037779789996743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4721155103287515424.post-38713585154178527332011-11-06T21:08:00.000-07:002011-11-06T21:08:17.483-07:00Halloween 2011<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLsKWW7Bemk-6kTTa2Ui8t_PsSjcn12X9rKA9GbKDS93M1DxQDhnxJw6I-ORrFy0VrfiswQb4UNht2ffY-PxANSHFEPF5pFhCIjsKHSakGcKY2tqZkUXqibBajcd09HBaWTrI2KDXSwus/s1600/Halloween+005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLsKWW7Bemk-6kTTa2Ui8t_PsSjcn12X9rKA9GbKDS93M1DxQDhnxJw6I-ORrFy0VrfiswQb4UNht2ffY-PxANSHFEPF5pFhCIjsKHSakGcKY2tqZkUXqibBajcd09HBaWTrI2KDXSwus/s320/Halloween+005.JPG" width="248" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><strong>*Warning</strong>: This post is not very well thought out and is a major picture dump. Sorry if you're expecting something more eloquent.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Halloween was so great this year! We went trick-or-treating with a couple families from church and it was pretty much perfect! Spencer kept Alayna with him at the house with the other dads and another baby. The other moms and I took the bigger kids out. Madeleine and Ian are both big enough to really get it and really enjoy it. Plus we were with really great friends! No complaints from us whatsoever! Hallie brought an extra cow costume for me to wear. Madeleine told me I shouldn't wear it. "That will be so embarassing!" I'm not sure if she thought it would embarass her or me, but I did wear it and I wasn't embarassed at all. I'll have to ask if she was. Ashley's the cute witch in the middle. You maybe can't tell but she is wearing a witch hat. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4-2kTwzmLML18VSmJpwcYHVTuAERHXBRFoteWbO_Dd8e1jtcqiBLuqB69snITRBoY9s2-EBzpVERJ_SF0HTRUkDh0rZbTkErplRrML7nW-ByBOWIE3LdcDAfp_aCmfJPlrVMreRvvjCA/s1600/1021111819.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4-2kTwzmLML18VSmJpwcYHVTuAERHXBRFoteWbO_Dd8e1jtcqiBLuqB69snITRBoY9s2-EBzpVERJ_SF0HTRUkDh0rZbTkErplRrML7nW-ByBOWIE3LdcDAfp_aCmfJPlrVMreRvvjCA/s320/1021111819.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>This was not for Halloween. It was just an instance of Maddie putting Alayna in dress-up clothes. I love her nice round tummy.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD5SOf8KG-m0tTjHBodwl6NIBsObtES3cu9fgwSIMYYuv2Gsu6Oq6Y5fKqV4W2Wl8GrC_Z1SHcih3kCrhjzqbjuNHTCD6HXCslY5q3o5CD9axV2L81Ws61LM77w08qM9G6ao9smI0PtCY/s1600/1023112041.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD5SOf8KG-m0tTjHBodwl6NIBsObtES3cu9fgwSIMYYuv2Gsu6Oq6Y5fKqV4W2Wl8GrC_Z1SHcih3kCrhjzqbjuNHTCD6HXCslY5q3o5CD9axV2L81Ws61LM77w08qM9G6ao9smI0PtCY/s320/1023112041.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Carving pumpkins was so great this year too! Again, Madeleine and Ian are big enough to help, and appreciate what we are doing. And they took a break from fighting with each other while we did it. The icing on the cake was part-way through when Madeleine went and got the scriptures to read to us during the carving. Thinking ahead, I tell ya. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj4byguEIF-Hdw_MWjAMTAGPl9zNtbuAWKGW5MFnolY4L4IrSRrPI166MUHHx-AtubGgRuKT9U9Z5L9U6D_xZSpLsfJ7uii0Z0j2oR61hr3O-fg4qRrNXqHqPGoNKu8HnHdMIQnPqE38k/s1600/1028111910.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj4byguEIF-Hdw_MWjAMTAGPl9zNtbuAWKGW5MFnolY4L4IrSRrPI166MUHHx-AtubGgRuKT9U9Z5L9U6D_xZSpLsfJ7uii0Z0j2oR61hr3O-fg4qRrNXqHqPGoNKu8HnHdMIQnPqE38k/s320/1028111910.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>Ian as Ben 10. I'm pretty pround of his costume. I bought the pants at Goodwill for about $5 then used fabric paint to put the stripe on a white shirt we already had. And the omnitrix (or ultamatrix, who knows?) we already had too. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikaDOo_43O85zLkgDLoav9ZRxvrNxXZBRoI7XLBUwsJ_aa3MGgH4vmluRGbHlkid92Eat9b8thJHUJ6TDa4ew6AYdMpo0W3ZzR5pLe9-nqRhgTEFD1FccrpJJ_UGlJaZgffLFLYb0133o/s1600/ben+10+images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikaDOo_43O85zLkgDLoav9ZRxvrNxXZBRoI7XLBUwsJ_aa3MGgH4vmluRGbHlkid92Eat9b8thJHUJ6TDa4ew6AYdMpo0W3ZzR5pLe9-nqRhgTEFD1FccrpJJ_UGlJaZgffLFLYb0133o/s1600/ben+10+images.jpg" /></a></div>Good likeness, right?<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyM0BFLBpR5kwD8InNlqhEYgELKFE0jH3fRNC_T2KGjSsKM-epjIBoA08qq0dQjnYAIYNzhgoj-B96q2rfW7A6ZfPAUKUqHOOFXKqjQmhPHKisaImJNQ-F5DW_T9bG8nqtkcob9_8vTtM/s1600/1028111910a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyM0BFLBpR5kwD8InNlqhEYgELKFE0jH3fRNC_T2KGjSsKM-epjIBoA08qq0dQjnYAIYNzhgoj-B96q2rfW7A6ZfPAUKUqHOOFXKqjQmhPHKisaImJNQ-F5DW_T9bG8nqtkcob9_8vTtM/s320/1028111910a.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>This picture is horrible, but Madeleine's costume is adorable. She had decided a few months ago that she wanted to be a fairy and we were planning to use some stuff we had and add a few things to it, hopefully items found at the thrift store. Well, I happened upon this dress with the wings at Goodwill for $5. Amazing, right?! The dress was about 6 inches longer and there were some tears in the tulle, but I was able to make it the right length above the rips in the fabric and put the ribbon back on and it turned out just perfect.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaJKM5lX2d4cygWIRXt3iqGZtI_MDPqXRtMWYaNV2N_VSZMtadYUB8l5RQ72WWY1emL-9mbAurjGQ1pY2PDCuFBTt2Wrx8eupMtonM9g7fgD4YvtBNsHSe6djqYm7zMmxhDYSnJhh2Mr8/s1600/1028111911.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaJKM5lX2d4cygWIRXt3iqGZtI_MDPqXRtMWYaNV2N_VSZMtadYUB8l5RQ72WWY1emL-9mbAurjGQ1pY2PDCuFBTt2Wrx8eupMtonM9g7fgD4YvtBNsHSe6djqYm7zMmxhDYSnJhh2Mr8/s320/1028111911.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>Alayna was Marie from the Aristocats. I haven't even seen that movie, but we've had this costume from when Madeleine was a baby so this is what Alayna got to be. She only wore it to the Trunk-or-Treat at church and since it was actually pretty chilly that night, I think she was glad to be in such a warm get up. Her face in this picture cracks me up!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigZsraHtmDz7ui10PZFS8HlVtW-CI_bq5WCj70QFdJBRMVTw50cBUlGU28xEMyfd4beB2RkLB-7pIXuWp2BcXutiCQcf4MJLDuiskIxaFQTlRl6j1V4yM7a4Vo1IvW5l2miOQRP-IrWMo/s1600/1029111438b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigZsraHtmDz7ui10PZFS8HlVtW-CI_bq5WCj70QFdJBRMVTw50cBUlGU28xEMyfd4beB2RkLB-7pIXuWp2BcXutiCQcf4MJLDuiskIxaFQTlRl6j1V4yM7a4Vo1IvW5l2miOQRP-IrWMo/s320/1029111438b.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>We made it to a couple Fall Festivals too. One at Maddie's school (no pictures from that one) and this one at the church where Ian goes to Pre-K. They really went all out! There were several different bounce house type things. On this one, you see how long you can stay on the surfboard while it moves around. Ian told me I messed him up by telling him to look at me for a picture. Oops! Sorry!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhumychgV17RwUg0av4zZUD0x8RXqIb1-hbWs6YAHD9i1C0YuITYa5qvRMEnW4c8d8JnSqU8151_gDCE-lsqgIo9jSlQRoy99zKPy1A6-jgqln8q6gVijvVO9SCd1H0dhEV88gXUHNa2MA/s1600/1029111449a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhumychgV17RwUg0av4zZUD0x8RXqIb1-hbWs6YAHD9i1C0YuITYa5qvRMEnW4c8d8JnSqU8151_gDCE-lsqgIo9jSlQRoy99zKPy1A6-jgqln8q6gVijvVO9SCd1H0dhEV88gXUHNa2MA/s320/1029111449a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>They also had a pony ride. Oh and by the way, everything was free. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgrSS30gO7Ymy6VW34ZDbYfX06JlA0AYlG72ngLyaLTMaYYq_IFa7nG9VYFrfDN9-6Ar8QgSRIjHjoHYGr9Kems133YDwUcjWpCR05lKZiQenzbnviERPszt94mSb7YzrdLdp3gb5uNpc/s1600/1029111449b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgrSS30gO7Ymy6VW34ZDbYfX06JlA0AYlG72ngLyaLTMaYYq_IFa7nG9VYFrfDN9-6Ar8QgSRIjHjoHYGr9Kems133YDwUcjWpCR05lKZiQenzbnviERPszt94mSb7YzrdLdp3gb5uNpc/s320/1029111449b.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Alayna wasn't too sure about the pony ride. She was quite upset at first, but once they got moving and she realized Spencer was staying with her she calmed down. I'm not prepared to say that means she liked it, but she didn't cry the whole time. Just a little at first. <br />
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I can't believe how fast the year is going by! I feel like I'm being catapulted into the holidays. Am I ready? Probably not, but I better get there.Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01413037779789996743noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4721155103287515424.post-36395975365678062772011-10-22T19:58:00.000-07:002011-10-22T19:58:58.506-07:00October, so far...I am sitting here wondering how in the heck I have let so much time go by without posting anything to this blog of mine. And to tell you the truth, I can think of a few reasons. One is that I have a new calling at church as the Nursery Coordinator. As the person in charge of overseeing 3 nurseries with over 40 kids total, I have spent a good bit of time and mental energy there instead of here. Also, Ian's birthday just passed (which I will cover shortly) and again my time and mental energy was required there. Finally, and probably the real culprit, is that I finally got into Pinterest and nearly every time I sit down at my computer I get sucked into Pinterest for more time than I care to admit. And though I feel bad for neglecting my blog, I am so in love with Pinterest! Corralling so many awesome ideas, recipes, etc. into one neat little spot is genius! I feel strangely productive after browsing around and gathering ideas even though I've really accomplished nothing. Anyway, this post isn't supposed to be all about Pinterest. I better move on to more important things.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbuJWwJEn7qp1B2ajVbG1PIcBsxKoBvdRALFKECT_JeQVdmBjUBWDAuTRddcOaq89BezocgC7PpX_d8ROKEQYm4oHzawX9pwGHNSE3GjjdpE2-4MYu54zVOCxdVV1BG5VOiCfPWLXV6hM/s1600/1003111742.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbuJWwJEn7qp1B2ajVbG1PIcBsxKoBvdRALFKECT_JeQVdmBjUBWDAuTRddcOaq89BezocgC7PpX_d8ROKEQYm4oHzawX9pwGHNSE3GjjdpE2-4MYu54zVOCxdVV1BG5VOiCfPWLXV6hM/s320/1003111742.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Believe it or not, Ian turned 5. It actually is so silly to say that because it is not at all hard to believe. He's seemed like a five-year-old for at least a year already. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiirvh5cm6E8u-G6GtbqBPGXycOpLVD384VvaSAjtJSIE6Z4jnx46_5-XOOmy25x0FgyNZJYza2r_34TxICMW2vdF4qxrXZ6wg_xoDcj7gjy-v1TYIxJ9cYpXH-1UrNLmsZVDYZil7fknk/s1600/1017111439.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiirvh5cm6E8u-G6GtbqBPGXycOpLVD384VvaSAjtJSIE6Z4jnx46_5-XOOmy25x0FgyNZJYza2r_34TxICMW2vdF4qxrXZ6wg_xoDcj7gjy-v1TYIxJ9cYpXH-1UrNLmsZVDYZil7fknk/s320/1017111439.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>We had a Ben 10 themed birthday party and it turned really great. You'll just have to take my word for it though since, as usual, I forgot to take a single picture. (I have <a href="http://randsinla.blogspot.com/2011/03/update-ian.html">previously mentioned</a> his love of Ben 10, who you can read all about <a href="http://www.cartoonnetwork.com/tv_shows/ben10/index.html">here</a>, if you're so inclined.) It was decided long ago that Ian would dress up as Ben 10 for Halloween this year so I let him wear his costume to the party. We played a couple games, ate yummy food, played at the park, had cake, and opened presents. Same as most parties I guess, but since we were at the park and not our house it was much less stressful. Plenty of great friends were there and Ian got lots of fabulous gifts, so to him it was perfect. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrqpcSqtIXeq8Csu6lOLSbl3qDDEe6a6m66OIlI8MOvXkObtRFFJxY5IL0VnXsjIaO6xGbV2JDpMw-T6KPPJe5nR6qrxaDg432z9sPFXlHC62WhahXkzAf20RaloubMq2a4M_nBmYcwA0/s1600/1017111804.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrqpcSqtIXeq8Csu6lOLSbl3qDDEe6a6m66OIlI8MOvXkObtRFFJxY5IL0VnXsjIaO6xGbV2JDpMw-T6KPPJe5nR6qrxaDg432z9sPFXlHC62WhahXkzAf20RaloubMq2a4M_nBmYcwA0/s320/1017111804.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>He had a couple gift cards to Target (thank you, Grandpa Gus and random lady at Target last week) and this is what he picked out. The plug-in-and-play video game controller. He couldn't be happier. Well, that's a lie. If we let him play non-stop like he wants to, then he couldn't be happier. We gave him another video game for the wii, too, so he has lots of games he wants to play and that equals lots of motivation for getting the homework/reading/chores, etc. done in a hurry.<br />
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I can't say enough what a wonderful kid Ian is! I can almost always count on him to be quick to obey whenever I ask him to do something. He's also a really good eater. His most recent favorite foods are carrots and apples. He's a great conversationalist, even if his favorite topic is video games or tv shows. Every now and then it will be about a book he's read. And he is a really good reader! He loves to lay on the rug in our entryway where the library books are and read and read and read. It's awesome. We are endlessly impressed with how smart he is. And we'd love to take credit for it, and maybe we can take a little since we are trying to be good parents who teach our kids a lot, but he is just really gifted. I have a feeling his smarts will keep me on my toes. Anyway, he is just so sweet and so kind and such a blessing in our lives! Happy birthday, Ian! You are the best and we love you!! <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01413037779789996743noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4721155103287515424.post-89626833331080547822011-09-23T10:43:00.001-07:002011-09-23T11:21:14.091-07:0011 Years and counting....<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB5jtGj_2F9dPijXhw664JkJF-vqM8FVE2U4_ghCiLM80P4Rb4KzEcQZ5VadF7YkjTKcKFXCfsxuVzeBeEMFIxDCjZrfs8I19iL5wYRPp4UB8kRzuOiBuQQDWMyjseGRipukcEvASQwyI/s1600/0917112233.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB5jtGj_2F9dPijXhw664JkJF-vqM8FVE2U4_ghCiLM80P4Rb4KzEcQZ5VadF7YkjTKcKFXCfsxuVzeBeEMFIxDCjZrfs8I19iL5wYRPp4UB8kRzuOiBuQQDWMyjseGRipukcEvASQwyI/s320/0917112233.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Last Friday, Spencer and I celebrated our 11th anniversary. Congrats to us! We went out to a lovely dinner, lazily walked around the shops while we waited to go see The Help (which we really liked). It was so nice to just hang out together. Our lives have become so busy that it takes real effort to fit in time to just hang out and often all we get is a few minutes here and there. So we greatly appreciated being able to spend a good hour and a half just talking, walking around, holding hands, enjoying each other's company. Of course we usually enjoy each other's company, but most times we are enjoying it simultaneously with our kids' company, which you know is not the same. And being out of the house meant we weren't multi-tasking, like watching tv together and folding laundry.<br />
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Lately I have been reflecting a lot on how truly fortunate I am to be married to Spencer. As a 21 year-old bride, I was so in love and was so sure I had snagged the best possible husband. Now as a 32 year-old veteran wife and mother, I am reminded daily of how right I was. And I really had no clue back then. I couldn't ask for a husband who works harder to provide for our family. Or for a husband who is so concerned and interested in our children's lives, their progression and devleopment. Or for a husband who readily sees past my many flaws. I'm sure I should be better at showing my appreciation for all he does for me and our kids. And I hope he feels equally blessed to have me as his wife.<br />
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P.S. Sorry to be so sappy. Sometimes there's just no way around it.Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01413037779789996743noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4721155103287515424.post-61308527180549547262011-09-18T19:13:00.000-07:002011-09-18T19:13:40.669-07:00Pre-K and Basketball<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjijcdtf8exgoIqu0KWDDdXZfAtsLtZM7h_ccFQlrZKFlLq5wm9pMhgndliinmLHBxqoA7rSfK0pGdjTBl61kM-o68NRrN56l6S2YPwkboJTOvgk6ueM2aMR-h0_CCjIkkH1Ndr3ln2EWs/s1600/0830111428.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjijcdtf8exgoIqu0KWDDdXZfAtsLtZM7h_ccFQlrZKFlLq5wm9pMhgndliinmLHBxqoA7rSfK0pGdjTBl61kM-o68NRrN56l6S2YPwkboJTOvgk6ueM2aMR-h0_CCjIkkH1Ndr3ln2EWs/s320/0830111428.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here's Ian on his first day of pre-K. He is going to a nearby Baptist church's pre-k program and so far he is really liking it. His teacher is very nice and it sounds like he's already made friends with the kids in his class. No surprise there. Ian might be the friendliest kid there is. His schedule is two days a week from 9:15-2:30, which I love. I wouldn't have minded a bit if we got him into a program that was 3 days a week, but this one was the right for for us. I will admit that I am jealous of the moms I know from back in California who all had babies around the same time I had Ian and they are starting their kids in kindergarten. The birthday cut-off here for school is September 1 so his October birthday means he won't start kindergarten till next year. And while a part of me wishes he was in school across the street already, I know that this year of pre-K is going to be a really good transition from preschool last year (2 days/week for 3 hours) to kindergarten next year (5 days/week for 7 hours). One of his comments about school so far is that it's kind of long. Yeah, good thing he's got a year to get used to it.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8ZCuCqAt1aGCYxi_k-yJyX-SMkW2m8mLuzp0U8EihehZBTisvdVQm2Mz9iIuKuDM-RHcjKojsr-SzCIXCb2Yg5eXyG7SfwOPtXcbrHMF2_zhyphenhyphen8-59drbLhqHUhDd5LX5xkbq2fHX9GTQ/s1600/0917110854.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8ZCuCqAt1aGCYxi_k-yJyX-SMkW2m8mLuzp0U8EihehZBTisvdVQm2Mz9iIuKuDM-RHcjKojsr-SzCIXCb2Yg5eXyG7SfwOPtXcbrHMF2_zhyphenhyphen8-59drbLhqHUhDd5LX5xkbq2fHX9GTQ/s320/0917110854.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>The other thing Ian gets to do right now is basketball. He's in the tiny tots league at the YMCA and it's pretty awesome. Most of the kids (Ian included) do not have any baskeball skills already so their "game" last weekend was quite a sight. Aside from one kid on the other team who was a total baller, the kids hardly dribbled (very few can actually do it at all), they weren't making many shots even though the basket was only about 6 feet high, and more than once I saw kids stealing the ball from their own teammates. Like I said, pretty awesome. Anyway, Ian is excited to be in basketball. He's a pretty good shot and he's interested in practicing dribbling so maybe he'll be the baller at one of his next games.Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01413037779789996743noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4721155103287515424.post-53425907463043779962011-09-11T19:27:00.000-07:002011-09-11T19:27:41.621-07:00Madeleine's version of events<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEVbG1XZiRm7XjrBSPAwyEXprJpwxrE1X-LdqYB0WH7nQ7DrJNeaEeX4WfJx3qGxUDcHi5-5L8tlXMNqwn2VIAfLuSF4l6YwH9wcFCIFK8bFNfL4lolZnrmvse6JhXmSclCfcn1xB-eLc/s1600/0911111723a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEVbG1XZiRm7XjrBSPAwyEXprJpwxrE1X-LdqYB0WH7nQ7DrJNeaEeX4WfJx3qGxUDcHi5-5L8tlXMNqwn2VIAfLuSF4l6YwH9wcFCIFK8bFNfL4lolZnrmvse6JhXmSclCfcn1xB-eLc/s320/0911111723a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Madeleine wrote this account of Ian's zipline fiasco for school. Her teacher told her it was the best story in class. I hope you can click the picture to enlarge so you can see all the cute details. This paper's a keeper!Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01413037779789996743noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4721155103287515424.post-10103676643846824482011-08-28T17:50:00.000-07:002011-08-28T17:50:42.143-07:00Why we are the best parents around.I know I already have earned "meanest mom." A couple weeks ago Spencer and I earned "Parents of the Year" hands down. We accomplished this feat by allowing our 4-year-old son to ride on a friend's zipline, without his foot in the rope for added security and without a helmet. Why would we do such a stupid thing? Well, Madeleine and our friends' kids were all riding it this way like a bunch of old pros and we obviously didn't think through the situation very well. So, here's what happened:<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">He climbed the ladder up to the start of the line (which truthfully was a red flag in and of itself) and started his ride down the zipline. Spencer and I and the dad of the other family were all standing there watching and cheering him on. Then he hit the end and the momentum he gathered along the way sent him flying. His feet went up in the air and his back hit a tree about 10 feet away, then he went down and hit his head on the ground/brush at the foot of the tree. Thankfully, he sprang right up, but he had cut his head pretty good and the blood was gushing. Needless to say we were freaked out. Considering how awful the whole thing looked and how bad it could have been, we are really lucky. We didn't feel lucky to sit for 5.5 hours in the ER, but it's a blessing that we have access at all the necessary medical care, right? Anyway, that gave us plenty of time to think of all the things we could/should have done differently so we could have saved our boy the pain he had to endure. He ended up with 4 blue stitches. They came out last week and the doctor let him keep them. He's hoping to bring them to school for show-and-tell soon. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXpD7XOn-Y3qNn2Ka_lrLEXwW9NPXMtkpgaGrLeh6W1vjOfCMLJa10cNTAxgu4YGjTtNxkq-dUFo6PvUnp0tUwqmkHiVFm0Ys38yzVffsNph1WBGbb5yBFQ2Og8lCem1zf_2nu3JBiTV0/s1600/0816110152.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXpD7XOn-Y3qNn2Ka_lrLEXwW9NPXMtkpgaGrLeh6W1vjOfCMLJa10cNTAxgu4YGjTtNxkq-dUFo6PvUnp0tUwqmkHiVFm0Ys38yzVffsNph1WBGbb5yBFQ2Og8lCem1zf_2nu3JBiTV0/s400/0816110152.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>I have pictures of the wound pre-stitches, but I thought it would be a little too gruesome for some. Honestly I don't even like to see it.<br />
<br />
His glasses went flying too went it happend and they seemed to have vanished into thin air. I looked around for a few minutes before we went to the ER and then throughout the week our friends continued to look for them, all to no avail. We couldn't imagine where they could have gone, but they definitely weren't in the yard by the zipline. Until Saturday of that week (this happened on Monday) when they finally appeared in the grass. Very strange. Good thing he had his old, taped up pair to wear in the meantime.<br />
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Without a doubt, Parents of the Year, right?Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01413037779789996743noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4721155103287515424.post-47262827293135992352011-08-27T14:14:00.000-07:002011-08-27T14:14:05.045-07:00One New Outfit<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9OGIAe0XowTJxdDxt8Rs820eodmhmXKYy-yc1O4WW9zuDpMn8DlFUb46fM01g4nRmuagGDRtQhkVkm9OiAw4WpyHpZvU-6B1ioDgdHF_ecWfdligSAjdSYjzlEFQRwDxXy9UembYQOTc/s1600/0825110754.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9OGIAe0XowTJxdDxt8Rs820eodmhmXKYy-yc1O4WW9zuDpMn8DlFUb46fM01g4nRmuagGDRtQhkVkm9OiAw4WpyHpZvU-6B1ioDgdHF_ecWfdligSAjdSYjzlEFQRwDxXy9UembYQOTc/s320/0825110754.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Madeleine had a pretty great first week of school (mostly). She was really well behaved the first couple days so I let her have access to one new outfit. Her excitement at the prospect of showing up to school in this ensemble got the best of her and made it difficult for her to sleep the night before. So, although she felt like a million bucks thanks to these clothes, her behavior took a bit of a backslide. Spencer and I thought rather than give her everything back at once, she could earn one outfit each day. Hopefully that way she would keep trying her best to be nice. Obvioulsy we think that's a pretty ingenius idea, but she feels robbed because she thought she could be good for 2 days and get everything now. I can understand her frustration, but I do think she is beginning to see it our way. Since I also took away all of her dress-up clothes I am thinking that I will let her earn one real outfit and one dress-up too. Any ideas? I welcome any and all advice on how you would deal with your own strong-willed child. Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01413037779789996743noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4721155103287515424.post-21987484209043299202011-08-23T10:15:00.009-07:002011-08-23T10:15:00.151-07:00The Favorite Child<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio2ViTiFzd13rAr2UKF3M-KWiXrlHqCdph_uZ6Mp1isGGwq7VJgz3evTbwoUfpkHuaXDBMZ1I_owWl1EXWd-GAHqdayICxO1X9iSzNz6IVHH_4aeVxWgk5qDeRqdnSAra3xmjqh6faBWc/s1600/0816111633a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio2ViTiFzd13rAr2UKF3M-KWiXrlHqCdph_uZ6Mp1isGGwq7VJgz3evTbwoUfpkHuaXDBMZ1I_owWl1EXWd-GAHqdayICxO1X9iSzNz6IVHH_4aeVxWgk5qDeRqdnSAra3xmjqh6faBWc/s320/0816111633a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>I know I can't <em>really</em> have a favorite child, and for the most part I don't, but I sure love having one that doesn't talk back and pick fights with anyone else. Are you sensing a theme in my recent posts? Can you tell there's been a bit of dischord around here? Sheesh! Anyway, Alayna is about as sweet as they come. And she is really funny. She's at that stage of babbling really intently but of course none of it comes out as real words. Also, there is no mistaking it when she is trying to communicate that she wants something. She stares it down and does a sort of growl/grunt. I'm thinking she might be ready to try and come up with another way to get that point across since the current method seems to hurt her throat a little and make her cough. Another of her talents is shaking her to say "no." She pretty much always means "no" when she does it, too. If I ask her if she wants her milk and then ignore her head shake and give it to her anyway, she promptly throws her cup to the floor. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5Mg_rqZAx4pdpgKJYZqpolZgHGC7B1_bbik_mcUopQe6dQQK2JkaxsfAyBJgwe55uWHbj93CXoYHhp3sA92bHb7h3nAsEJvuM1L8p3AV1cxOmU7-16-cM9-yaZ0QoKhj1q1z1jK80_Gg/s1600/0820111036.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5Mg_rqZAx4pdpgKJYZqpolZgHGC7B1_bbik_mcUopQe6dQQK2JkaxsfAyBJgwe55uWHbj93CXoYHhp3sA92bHb7h3nAsEJvuM1L8p3AV1cxOmU7-16-cM9-yaZ0QoKhj1q1z1jK80_Gg/s320/0820111036.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>This picture makes her look like she is moving at light speed, doesn't it? Madeleine picked out her outfit this day, cute baby skinny jeans and a tunic. Very fashionable. You can kind of see how darling Alayna's hair is getting to be. The back and sides are filling in finally and she's got a little curl going on. And she's so blonde! Her hair likes to fall straight into her eyes and she won't keep bows in her hair so lately we have resorted to the one ponytail on top. She really works that look.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2mfuLM9c9TKzJMduWsid0TMo10E1cTySctJcog8GgKJi13a9H2K-IoY-SRZPBlIfvjjNIJs8Z51AaJfiIugqyIrU9UxFiR0GLwnoGrwrtF6dcU25rpliEf8YlHut5VHa2bmD5KqUl6gs/s1600/0820111032.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2mfuLM9c9TKzJMduWsid0TMo10E1cTySctJcog8GgKJi13a9H2K-IoY-SRZPBlIfvjjNIJs8Z51AaJfiIugqyIrU9UxFiR0GLwnoGrwrtF6dcU25rpliEf8YlHut5VHa2bmD5KqUl6gs/s320/0820111032.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Here again in her favorite place. Notice the final touch on her fashionable outfit--the shoes. What 13-month-old doesn't need a pair of pink platform sandals?<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfqcPP5ykY9IgLfSehSiu_-tURaTLrqtrcpGF6uSXW6suy9RwPbFOpFyleN0nDROIrFcSCd31OTIAsDjbl3PhcOhQnsnhcjnGp2mmjzY1EAPa6cRdgUNNPXMCI3UH81RPLvgZYLIS1Wgc/s1600/0823111143.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfqcPP5ykY9IgLfSehSiu_-tURaTLrqtrcpGF6uSXW6suy9RwPbFOpFyleN0nDROIrFcSCd31OTIAsDjbl3PhcOhQnsnhcjnGp2mmjzY1EAPa6cRdgUNNPXMCI3UH81RPLvgZYLIS1Wgc/s320/0823111143.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">One last bit. She's pretty excited about learning to eat using utensils instead of her fingers or having someone else feed her. On several occasions she has turned her nose up at something I try to feed her on a fork or spoon, but if I let her hold it herself she'll gobble it right up. She's a cute girl and we can't get enough of her!</div>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01413037779789996743noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4721155103287515424.post-72792695658984773612011-08-22T18:46:00.000-07:002011-08-22T19:31:28.575-07:00Meanest mom EVER!According to Madeleine, that's me. That little girl has been giving us a heck of time lately and our efforts to crack down and help her to shape up have earned me this new title. I don't think it's true, but perhaps it is. <br />
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As I have previously indicated, Madeleine is really into dressing up/dressing fancy/looking cute, etc. This is the thought that came to me as I was trying to figure out what I could take away in an attempt to motivate her to be a kinder, sweeter, more obedient child. So a couple weeks ago I cleared out her closet of all items that were not totally plain and told her she had to earn them back by changing her behavior. She also would not be allowed to have her new school clothes if she didn't earn her other clothes back. I hoped she would quickly turn things around, but I guess we have given her reason to believe that more and bigger fits equal getting what she wants. Well, we are determined to not give in to that anymore (I thought we already weren't giving in). And so we in the midst of an epic battle of the wills. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6ES4TVra5VdzFT50VMd2kPdyOCVqMndKvgIZ59pwYntplXg3uBDVmpY9_wRVfqgKLrIz8UH_JbP0RwXX0lvLQik1jT0I2KQ8R3ZPIZsKmukEnoBYfBYH9dYjswhmlgTbbpsVRCapIG7U/s1600/0822110801.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6ES4TVra5VdzFT50VMd2kPdyOCVqMndKvgIZ59pwYntplXg3uBDVmpY9_wRVfqgKLrIz8UH_JbP0RwXX0lvLQik1jT0I2KQ8R3ZPIZsKmukEnoBYfBYH9dYjswhmlgTbbpsVRCapIG7U/s320/0822110801.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">She had to start second grade in old clothes. I did let her carry her new book bag and her new lunchbox. Maybe I shouldn't have, I'm not sure. </div> <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigUZK8Uv-dssMnVCtFzyOii9dbXhb2lbxtWEZo8vtFgm2Lt6Cnp1Dvyr4PLoMVE6ghsBt4gwcnqgG5NBOuRo-pfsXV3OvIfXKmdMTzwYvy6yTr_dAlM06rgdS6qtahDZ2dyQebS-aN640/s1600/0822110801a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigUZK8Uv-dssMnVCtFzyOii9dbXhb2lbxtWEZo8vtFgm2Lt6Cnp1Dvyr4PLoMVE6ghsBt4gwcnqgG5NBOuRo-pfsXV3OvIfXKmdMTzwYvy6yTr_dAlM06rgdS6qtahDZ2dyQebS-aN640/s320/0822110801a.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And I let her decide on her hairstyle. I don't think the "meanest mom ever" would do that! I am happy to report that she actually had a fabulous day! Especially compared to how our days have been going around here, it was like a 9 out of 10! Can you sense my happiness and relief?! If she can keep this new attitude up for a couple more days I'll have to have another "first" day of school post for her so we can showcase one of her new outfits. She's been really excited about it. Wish us luck! I might get that title revoked soon enough. :)</div>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01413037779789996743noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4721155103287515424.post-32047676386083239382011-08-21T18:36:00.000-07:002011-08-21T18:36:43.494-07:00Quote of the YearBackground: Ian is a fabulous kid who doesn't complain about much, but he regularly gives us grief about going to church on Sunday. We've told him that in our family it's non-negotiable and we will do it every week no matter what, but still he complains. The other thing that must be pointed out is that he is fascinated with the computer. This took place one Sunday on our way to church. Are you ready for it?<br />
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Ian: "Mom, why do we have to go to church?"<br />
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Me: "Because we need to go and learn more about Jesus."<br />
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Ian: "Can't we just do that on the computer?"<br />
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Me: "Where do you think we would go on the computer to do that?"<br />
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Ian: "I don't know...maybe <a href="http://heavenlyfather.com/">heavenlyfather.com</a>."<br />
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Did you check the link? After this conversation we had to check and we were pleasantly surprised to see that it took us to mormon.org. Pretty cool, in my opinion. And I know that it's only August and a better quote could come along, but this one is staying strong for now and I just had to share.<br />
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P.S. I cannot wait for Madeleine to start school tomorrow!Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01413037779789996743noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4721155103287515424.post-9923451247728487902011-07-29T06:41:00.000-07:002011-07-29T06:41:56.463-07:00you're fighting about what??<div><div><div><span style="color: black;">I know none of you could possibly think that our kids are perfect. And even though no one asked for it, I will give you some proof.</span></div><div><span style="color: black;"></span> </div><ul><li><span style="color: black;">Not a day (no, not even one single day) goes by without Madeleine and Ian fighting over who gets to sit in the coveted seat at the back of the kitchen table. This might make sense if the tv were on while we're eating (since that seat would have the best view), but it's not. It seems like maybe the reasoning has become that that seat is closer to Alayna's highchair. Either way, it makes me want to scream. </span></li>
<li><span style="color: black;">You could hear statements like these at almost any mealtime at our house:</span></li>
</ul><span style="color: black;">"I want the blue plate!" </span><br />
<span style="color: black;">"No!! I want the blue plate!!" </span><br />
<span style="color: black;">"Mom! He got the blue plate yesterday!!" </span><br />
<span style="color: black;">"You get what you get and you don't get upset!"</span><br />
<ul><li><span style="color: black;">Our older kids also have a real talent for arguing over what they watch on netflix. There are a few shows they agree on, like Avatar: the Last Airbender and the Fantastic Four. But mostly if Ian wants to pick something besides those two, Madeleine will fight it. Pretty much if it's not her way/choice/idea/etc. it's worth fighting over.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: black;">If you're like me, you hope that prayer-time will be a brief moment of peace in your home. But again, if you're like me, you are disappointed on that one. Those two even have to fight over who gets to say the prayer. Unbelievable!</span></li>
</ul><span style="color: black;">I could come up with several other examples, but I think that's proof enough for now. At this moment however, I am pleased to say that Alayna is sleeping and Madeleine and Ian are playing nicely enough together with the fort they built in the playroom. So, for this moment, I am enjoying some relative peace and a break from wanting to scream.</span></div></div>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01413037779789996743noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4721155103287515424.post-27167008055254128012011-07-19T19:21:00.005-07:002011-07-19T20:15:31.619-07:00One year old!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7CJh2KPDYIW7bgnQlOmsFCSimHmtvkvN5G5mUEPRWevFYXiKLouJKzPJ3DkC3Z1FNRP5q-0i2_rXMMqwe9Md3vrsEfOh_ltT2Cfe8xM-ltqNSXOZh01hyphenhyphenmMCUY1K4527kz4LOi0SpavU/s1600/July+2010+027.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 347px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5631266590204780434" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7CJh2KPDYIW7bgnQlOmsFCSimHmtvkvN5G5mUEPRWevFYXiKLouJKzPJ3DkC3Z1FNRP5q-0i2_rXMMqwe9Md3vrsEfOh_ltT2Cfe8xM-ltqNSXOZh01hyphenhyphenmMCUY1K4527kz4LOi0SpavU/s400/July+2010+027.JPG" /></a>Here's our sweet Alayna Camille screaming her lungs out just after she was born on July 13, 2010. That first washing wasn't fun for her. Since then, she has come to love the bath. :) In fact, she has been very good natured and a real sweetheart about most everything. Just a good baby!<br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5631256340784238082" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHD0T5pXsNRmhmXnXKbDXTQFUHjlbX-CO-TXQySQiVLb9QTsUc__3u8ynmLoGgH_4FMSfPH1b28fh5Qg7DVz8_hNbQwx7kpcg0il9q2ZfnsEWimfDCSgPZrEgK_scFZQa_XYRYnwaxea0/s400/001.JPG" />At about 6 months she was chewing on everything, working hard at getting teeth. Now at 1, she has eight teeth and the doctor said Alayna's molars look quite swollen so I expect we'll be seeing more teeth soon enough. <img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5631256347575780690" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsVSV8JquxMhiElrzHOtFEqkFtkUhz_wbbo3mBBu_MrtljEAtZmP7cbbuMipuLte6YN4dHDosYTvxnU0213nUxNxFyQKG72TPuC4uJLwn-kyPp-oZylOU-H7743XrppPmPu0Hw2VNYbEs/s400/0415111649.jpg" />As a 9-month-old, Alayna was exploring all over the place! She had mastered crawling by then and really wanted to go everywhere. She particularly enjoyed climbing the stairs, and still does. Her sweet personality began to emerge more and more around this age.<img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 267px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5631258250731255074" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6dLXdcj9ixrbytsPVqDUMzTTY4LcBqCn91eYSXNfgc_upZ277P6V5UcTcrw_b3JS74K1lHXc0HD4W1gf6cJM6DIncZgMg0ZarI8K3kOvZyeW7r73LSrndWLcdcEVbzBmjQmxVxf3mZCA/s400/110702BVKMRANDSS119.JPG" />And now she is a big 1-year-old. She is such a wonderful girl! She truly keeps a smile on our faces since everything about her is absolutely precious! She started walking a few days before her birthday. A baby just starting to walk has got to be one of the cutest/funniest things ever. It's adorable!<br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5631264326332799490" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieuAFuxvH8UTShM2yKDghgSLk6oXYJ-vbTk-miI9CM_ctLw_2KLfpBo_QTL6ktBklRLAegcTnTld5DT8qb_TZ6j9meyZGpqohVvNWzKAuTzgFSHxeGO8WRKZx1pQo2s4hfVt6sTw932SY/s400/0713111634.jpg" />We got to celebrate her birthday a little early while we were in Oregon with all of Spencer's family, including our niece Maren who was born about 2 weeks before Alayna. Maren was kind enough to let Alayna share the spotlight that day. Back here on her actual birthday, we just had a little family party. Since she doesn't know to expect anything, I think it was just the right amout of celebration. I must say, the cake was delicious. I had to eat waaay too much of it. Alayna liked it too:<br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5631264321187680786" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqDXSDfyQ4xKk3pW1XCWCPbl4zaXhUr4RGF63WsxSHJ5vkZ2NoLy3B2qefNb9jjQjlp1EzRLf-qKZvyo1xXJf_AeyzJpFqUo6Z4ZcsqR8fOn82sXhFnSaNwTgR13WgU3d6htGef0Mi6bk/s400/0713111900a.jpg" />Happy birthday, baby girl!! We love you!Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01413037779789996743noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4721155103287515424.post-40694607070511864112011-07-18T19:56:00.002-07:002011-07-18T20:03:31.516-07:00I currently love...<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTSVRs8v74Srvdy5ruSgyA41ivIg-Dtbpq6goBfFV1fUIyMfmx7bem9hLTdNmqYBUeOf0sYyU1P2zR9hutFHvYYlvFXLL5j92LBMnIMe1qP6baeyPX3AUsBwCLN5lGJJVy7oq3UcJ7MGE/s1600/FNL.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 225px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 225px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5630892177635004898" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTSVRs8v74Srvdy5ruSgyA41ivIg-Dtbpq6goBfFV1fUIyMfmx7bem9hLTdNmqYBUeOf0sYyU1P2zR9hutFHvYYlvFXLL5j92LBMnIMe1qP6baeyPX3AUsBwCLN5lGJJVy7oq3UcJ7MGE/s400/FNL.jpg" /></a> This is Spencer's and my new favorite thing to watch in our free time. It sure makes us wish we had more free time! Any other FNL lovers out there?<br /><br /><div></div><br /><div>And in case you are wondering, I have gads of topics to post about. It is a little overwhelming which is probably why I haven't done it yet. That, and that I want to watch another episode of Friday Night Lights instead of blog. Stay tuned. I'll post something better soon, I promise.</div>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01413037779789996743noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4721155103287515424.post-54179457883784089422011-06-03T06:53:00.002-07:002011-06-03T07:14:10.354-07:00Road Trip<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4ZjsWr7CHP7JbQp9sKjHNW3ws6LAdH2aTLRc_2kIiWUTaIXdXrba5pnnlTcL2-WaTkNzdzOJGN_Cb7z7MHvz72TGteFgjwNfcDpSsFWsX7cu-GloBknkntQnCzrJ-Sl5aiQiE5Xr3KgE/s1600/0530111231.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5613991976296889922" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4ZjsWr7CHP7JbQp9sKjHNW3ws6LAdH2aTLRc_2kIiWUTaIXdXrba5pnnlTcL2-WaTkNzdzOJGN_Cb7z7MHvz72TGteFgjwNfcDpSsFWsX7cu-GloBknkntQnCzrJ-Sl5aiQiE5Xr3KgE/s400/0530111231.jpg" /></a> Spencer had a training in Baton Rouge this week and since we didn't want him to get lonely :) we invited ourselves along. Getting crowns at Burger King on the way there was suprisingly fun.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYsDUwdEDQ3eCwiasiaUItbNDGuMaHD14NkYzDW1DnocQqpaj14KhXfIRfNj9jXgKabPeOF5yKfl1lV68dI8q-YUyWthY9F5aCH7ovbXOvmovJZT6nVbiRXWhpDaLkxK0-XrndlWamahw/s1600/0531111829.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5613991970035760226" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYsDUwdEDQ3eCwiasiaUItbNDGuMaHD14NkYzDW1DnocQqpaj14KhXfIRfNj9jXgKabPeOF5yKfl1lV68dI8q-YUyWthY9F5aCH7ovbXOvmovJZT6nVbiRXWhpDaLkxK0-XrndlWamahw/s400/0531111829.jpg" /></a>The kids and I spent our days hanging out at the pool and in the hotel room. We agree that the pool is fun, but I don't share their excitement for the room itself. They were so thrilled to come in one day after the maid had been in and see that the beds were made. Easy to please, I tell ya! But back to the pool, Ian finally got the hang of swimming without his floaties while we were there. Happy day! <br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJp-dPM0mVpZGd29kqL49-BY4zwIdRBg2aaFeVAZkUElIOzS4pOD7P5WU_oqcPcS0ZypvG1C9IGzhCfL-hSvi26_Puyo5WkC9GhjkDrNfsLx-_X1fgJf1tfaFsaWenICT5CHKT-mEqlXQ/s1600/0531111950.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5613991962251860626" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJp-dPM0mVpZGd29kqL49-BY4zwIdRBg2aaFeVAZkUElIOzS4pOD7P5WU_oqcPcS0ZypvG1C9IGzhCfL-hSvi26_Puyo5WkC9GhjkDrNfsLx-_X1fgJf1tfaFsaWenICT5CHKT-mEqlXQ/s400/0531111950.jpg" /></a>One evening after dinner (where the kids posed with the LSU tiger) we explored town a bit. After going to see the river and how high it is right now (really high!), we went over to the capitol building. The steps were begging to be climbed.<br /><br /><div align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZKXArKwcnNs9-ZIWh-kW4BOb3AD-rXRv1o4orVXmVW6Fqb2mvGRsO9RzSm-_EfexCGChQc0to7PuPIsfYERjbYszNxaq0Ke1hwJywIlzC6lATXSDi4K9l4NwD0EjgIn2By2E2h1b3XKo/s1600/0531111952.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5613991955730067298" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZKXArKwcnNs9-ZIWh-kW4BOb3AD-rXRv1o4orVXmVW6Fqb2mvGRsO9RzSm-_EfexCGChQc0to7PuPIsfYERjbYszNxaq0Ke1hwJywIlzC6lATXSDi4K9l4NwD0EjgIn2By2E2h1b3XKo/s400/0531111952.jpg" /></a> Madeleine is always looking for good photo opportunities and I am usually happy to oblige. It was a fun couple days and it got us really excited for summer break. Today is the first official day of it and Madeleine is celebrating by sleeping in past 9 o'clock. Isn't that the life? <br /><div></div></div></div>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01413037779789996743noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4721155103287515424.post-18417292174680050812011-05-28T07:35:00.005-07:002011-05-28T10:10:48.821-07:00This and that<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCON0Qj5n57Oqk7rvD4ez9fPJFO0LYIPwHUqCjGzPjR137DTtbQqwqNDJiD9HVDip2bdySgkVO2oNEL_gUVgJOFT8z6rqVWvmR2OGQDx3b_04nyL2BUeKAmN3B3Btjm1lS0rwBNpoSA7A/s1600/0527111214.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5611777303660131778" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCON0Qj5n57Oqk7rvD4ez9fPJFO0LYIPwHUqCjGzPjR137DTtbQqwqNDJiD9HVDip2bdySgkVO2oNEL_gUVgJOFT8z6rqVWvmR2OGQDx3b_04nyL2BUeKAmN3B3Btjm1lS0rwBNpoSA7A/s400/0527111214.jpg" /></a> Alayna is in such a great phase right now! She is getting to be just a little more independent and I think she's pretty pleased with herself about it. One thing she is especially good at is eating. She will eat anything! In this picture she's chowing down some turkey meatballs. But her favorite food is likely the same as your kids--pizza! She has 7 teeth to help with the chewing but since they're all in the front, she has become an expert gummer. And now that she is so proficient at feeding herself, that is what she prefers. No more baby food for her, please. I still give her baby food occasionally when I don't want to have to bathe her again after letting her feed herself canned peaches or something equally sticky and messy.<br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-DT0w4jlUxBd1wadSeFvMn3zYV2_iVV4WGrdyV-_dZntlJbK4IvEMrtRMhtY38wvlj0Pig9kF2P9L-wRYkUbaqFxvb3kqaSdkzgUVfvS_XABD5EPGfwl5xQoeqlNCpqDHqspA8XQUkJ8/s1600/0527110836a.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5611777297259637410" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-DT0w4jlUxBd1wadSeFvMn3zYV2_iVV4WGrdyV-_dZntlJbK4IvEMrtRMhtY38wvlj0Pig9kF2P9L-wRYkUbaqFxvb3kqaSdkzgUVfvS_XABD5EPGfwl5xQoeqlNCpqDHqspA8XQUkJ8/s400/0527110836a.jpg" /></a> Ian just finished his first year of preschool. He loved going to school and really soaked up all they were teaching him. I have learned from experience that sometimes the reports I get from my children about what they've done at school or church or a friend's house, etc. might be slightly less than accurate. Not so with Ian. He would tell me some of what he'd done at school and when I got an email from his teacher telling about school that day, he was always right on. He just explained it differently. His teachers gave him a glowing report of how smart he is, how much he learned and how much they loved having him in their class. He's really looking forward to pre-k in the fall.<br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmC18l9uU2tnEzzr9HjuOflrcInddm-Wx-Ic18WTK_fjCAWCAFikg6EGwp0Km8OtnlxqpPZBwDnseFJYVnDuoPSMHOv0fOWUeTdIHNkQ-Q1fVVM6zIko1FTkCIBokfoFXBNeHXUmqCDmg/s1600/0527110836.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5611777294193289394" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmC18l9uU2tnEzzr9HjuOflrcInddm-Wx-Ic18WTK_fjCAWCAFikg6EGwp0Km8OtnlxqpPZBwDnseFJYVnDuoPSMHOv0fOWUeTdIHNkQ-Q1fVVM6zIko1FTkCIBokfoFXBNeHXUmqCDmg/s400/0527110836.jpg" /></a>Although Alyana is only 10 months old, her doctor said she can have cow's milk already. Something to do with her iron count or something? I don't know, but I was really glad to find that out beause I was getting ready to wean her off breastmilk and she wanted absolutely nothing to do with formula! And she won't drink from a bottle so we're skipping them and going straight to sippy cups. I think it's so cute how excited she gets when I give her a cup of milk in the morning.<br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIhXdp3wmK8p6o1GxS-U_UBB_awbOan4DHexMaQ7bRGn6h-JYOzZp6Ndvmb9vuL0IRM8x5RM4s3FHKoU-3JGKFE1Vf19trBCMLS-dfFW1rpoYrPAkE4YgiOEVUJTTsJn1XTBCa4nFX_lY/s1600/0527110835a.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5611776302351651570" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIhXdp3wmK8p6o1GxS-U_UBB_awbOan4DHexMaQ7bRGn6h-JYOzZp6Ndvmb9vuL0IRM8x5RM4s3FHKoU-3JGKFE1Vf19trBCMLS-dfFW1rpoYrPAkE4YgiOEVUJTTsJn1XTBCa4nFX_lY/s400/0527110835a.jpg" /></a> Madeleine with her friend, Liz, at the final Honor Roll breakast of the year. Madeleine stayed on the All A's Honor Roll all year long. Great job, Maddie! Do you like the powdered sugar on her smile? So cute! I bet what you really love are her beautiful accessories. She really scored on her birthday with the headbands and such. She wore a fancy headband and that necklace everyday this week. </div><br /><br /><div><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy3n31CrkIgrUMKfvaq1k6T3GE6hXEUhHqQlC-LxabFQDCd7rQzXyN1HnsvDCj-qF0NuqFPPAM5UHFwc1wbRW8Zwo1eB2PRtY_bYF63baCxtYe6s6FWCNmxDCZiiumtXU8oMAbf9zElrc/s1600/0526111417a.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5611776299136951010" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy3n31CrkIgrUMKfvaq1k6T3GE6hXEUhHqQlC-LxabFQDCd7rQzXyN1HnsvDCj-qF0NuqFPPAM5UHFwc1wbRW8Zwo1eB2PRtY_bYF63baCxtYe6s6FWCNmxDCZiiumtXU8oMAbf9zElrc/s400/0526111417a.jpg" /></a>I've already mentioned before that Alayna loves climbing the stairs. What's funny is that she knows we don't want her to do it <span style="font-size:78%;">(for fear of her getting hurt, of course)</span> and she thinks it's a fun game. When I see her on the stairs and call her name, she squeals and giggles and tries to go up even faster till I come catch her. What a goof!<br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm4Ox-U1rycIr-uo0EGRyyzz2xyY2jLlJmnwFgQ1l2mW446_n5fcPWqELctNKUzuG5uibBgTVK7_NiLxtWfJwZ6iMa9BkLPZXBbEov3TmtD5Ametk5jgEmy-CNflOwNzOu1aJ9mnCsB24/s1600/0515111656.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5611776291975502194" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm4Ox-U1rycIr-uo0EGRyyzz2xyY2jLlJmnwFgQ1l2mW446_n5fcPWqELctNKUzuG5uibBgTVK7_NiLxtWfJwZ6iMa9BkLPZXBbEov3TmtD5Ametk5jgEmy-CNflOwNzOu1aJ9mnCsB24/s400/0515111656.jpg" /></a> She loves the trampoline too. We don't let her on very often, but it was the perfect place to let her play around while the rest of us played bocci ball in the backyard one evening.<br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1KxhLA0TGJWxlOa2zvddSpr1JgwzYs2iV_khE_6esSpMaf9V7sPhHqO_Xku9hh_RXm4-H5G24uMFeLN9iBgC4v4ePhid1WXPlqcJuw56ki2Y_E9HIOFldTds7PGQIN30C2o-PpZj9cug/s1600/0405111358.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5611776286092028082" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1KxhLA0TGJWxlOa2zvddSpr1JgwzYs2iV_khE_6esSpMaf9V7sPhHqO_Xku9hh_RXm4-H5G24uMFeLN9iBgC4v4ePhid1WXPlqcJuw56ki2Y_E9HIOFldTds7PGQIN30C2o-PpZj9cug/s400/0405111358.jpg" /></a>I got these chairs to go with my breakfast table in place of the <a href="http://randsinla.blogspot.com/2011/03/miscellaneous-stuff.html">folding chairs</a> there before. I admit that a windsor chair wasn't my top choice, but since I got six of these chairs and a table (that I will turn around and sell) for $50 I decided to go for it. They were so filthy and gross. And rehabbing them was a MAJOR pain! But I am happy with the finished product.<br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipNi9ktqh36XH_vzXSxPXsvZtCed2rMboPs-GWT6k4j-vZAaTCN1uzysDl9Jir8zThNmgojveUTMYtBAyCqF7X9lOniiESW-U-roJA2hL-0HzbDjXy2bslXSjFk0o9qKxk8hA5x73mkqE/s1600/0521111447.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5611776289073955858" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipNi9ktqh36XH_vzXSxPXsvZtCed2rMboPs-GWT6k4j-vZAaTCN1uzysDl9Jir8zThNmgojveUTMYtBAyCqF7X9lOniiESW-U-roJA2hL-0HzbDjXy2bslXSjFk0o9qKxk8hA5x73mkqE/s400/0521111447.jpg" /></a>I know, I need some flowers or fruit or something to brighten this room up. That's beside the point. Anyway, I'm not in a hurry to refinish chairs ever again, but I am so glad these are done. I really like the look of them with the table. At any rate, it's a huge improvement over the folding chairs.</div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div>That's all for now. Hope you all have a great Memorial Day weekend!</div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01413037779789996743noreply@blogger.com2